Alright, I gave into another Sly Cooper story! This one was inspired by Ramona Bandicoot and ForeverFreelancer, the goddesess of Sly Cooper stories everywhere!But this is the last one! I mean it! I'm not even going to do a Sir Galleth one! Nope! Not going to be tempted. Zippo chance of writing another one... (C) Sucker Punch and Sanzaru

1884 A.D Santa Fe, New Mexico

"Come back here you thief!" The Bull and Coyote guards shouted from below, all aiming their guns at the female thief expertly running on the roofs of homes and shops with a medium sack of her spoils tossed over her shoulder. "You won't get away that easy, Oakley!"

The female jackal let out a loud 'whooo!' as she jump from the point of bar sign and sprung up to latch on the telephone pole across of her. She climbed up it with one hand, laughing when the guard's bullet's missed her as she climbed and jump to the town's water tower. "I say I got away with it pretty easy." She taunted to the guards several feet below her. Her wavy black hair fluttered in the warn wind when she tipped her hat. "Well, boys," Her southern twang voice called down to them, "It's been a hoot, but I've got to take all this gold and put it to better use than Garrett would've."

Howdy. Ya'll. Names Oakley. Lillian Oakley. As you gathered from a few moments ago you figured that I'm some kind of criminal. While it's true that I don't obey all the laws and start a bar fight or two and gamble, I honestly do it for the greater good. You see while I am a thief, I'm also a school straight lace school teacher for the youngins' in this dusty little town. And in this little town, while we are small we have a small goldmine off to the outskirts where the fathers toil to and earn money for the town. Which was all fine and good until the Mayor allowed a new railroad to be brought to town, bringing in a nasty gang of new comers that the town could've done without. Ever since the new rail went up, crimes went up as well thanks to the new comers. The Mayor eventually had to hire a Sheriff and a suspicious one at that. For one, he doesn't take care of the crimes himself; he has his goons do it! Second, he demands a ridiculous amount of payment for keeping the town 'safe'. The mayor had to eventually close and sell the mine to the new Sheriff, leaving the town broke. With no gold to supply the town, everyone started to lose business and residence. Leading us to now with me stealing from small time crime lord named Garrett how hand his hand in what's happening to our town. With this gold, I'll be able to keep my school open for the children and shelter for their parents who lost their homes. Unfortunately I knew I couldn't keep this up on my own. Stealing from small crime lords won't stop this town from going under. I needed help…I needed help pulling of a crime that will win the town its money back and knock this shady Sheriff off his soap box. But who's good enough to match me as a thief?

-0-0-0- 3 weeks later -0-0-0-

'Darn taxes went up again.' I reloaded my revolver after dealing with a mob of guards trying to stop me from busting into the southern bank. Shoving one gun into my holster, I tip toed up to the vault and pressed one ear against the door as I turned the dial, trying to determine the combination.

"Wouldn't it be easier to just shoot the lock off?"

Reacting on instinct alone, I whirled around and pointed my revolver to the southern twang voice behind me, only to meet the hole of a gun pointed at me as well.

"Well, well, well. Miss Lillian Oakley! Fancy meeting you here."

I resisted the urge to growl when I looked past the six-shot revolver, "Tennessee…what a surprise." I moved my gun away from his head and he did the same. Tennessee Kid has an enthusiastic and confident personality one that I find highly annoying when he catches me in a middle of a heist. Despite joking most of the time, he takes his family legacy very seriously. Yup, while we were pulling a big train heist he told me a bit of his Cooper family thieving history how each thief pulls off amazing heist using their own thieving move. One he's contributing to the Thievius Raccoonus is his famous rail slide maneuver for quick getaways when he's pulling off train robberies. "I thought we agreed that if I started that saloon brawl so you could get away with stealing that 20k belt buckle you would leave me alone." She glared at him, "Permanently."

Tennessee rubbed his forehead under his bowler hat, "Well, I've heard what you've been doing lately and getting yourself involved with the new Sheriff ain't safe of you."

"Since when is my safety important ta you?" I asked, cocking my hip to the side, "I recall plenty a time when you left me high and dry to take the heat for ya."

Tennessee chuckled uneasily and waved his hands in defense, "I can explain that-"

I turned my back to him and focused on the vault, "I don't want to hear it. Get out of here, Kid, I'm busy."

"I actually be needin' a favor from ya." Tennessee continued to pester me. Can't he see that I'm trying to get some gold here? "You know…I can get you more gold than what's in that there safe."

I was almost tempted to just shoot the lock if he was going to keep bothering me. "I know you can, but I don't want your help. Your 'help' usually involves me getting hurt or on the short end of the gun."

"I know, but I'll cut in you in on the profit." He bargained.

I left the safe alone after I had opened it and turned to face him, "Alright, how much gold are we talking here?"

"A bank full." He said with a cocky smirk, "And I'm talkin' the new bank."

My eyes widen. 'Is he talking about that new prestigious bank that gets regular shipments of gold?! That bank is the most guarded in the whole west! There's no way he can pull it off Cooper or not!' "Let's say that I go through with this wily plan, how much of I split do I get?"

"20 percent?" He bargained.

I crossed my arms, "50."

"25?"

"35."

"40 and I'll come back for you when things get hairy."

I shook his hand, "Deal."

"Much obliged." He leaned in quickly and stole a kiss from me. My heart jumped into my throat at the intimate contact and before I could even fully enjoy it, he pulled away and ran off.

Shaking my head I turned back to the open safe and found it clean empty of gold, only Tennessee's calling card. 'Why that no good-'

"COOPER!"

-0-0- 3 days later -0-0-

"Get back here!"

'I'm getting a funny sense of De ja vu here.' I circled around a saloon, trying to keep the guards on my tail for once so Tennessee can get into the bank get as much gold has he can carry in his sack and get out so we could make it to the train before it passes.

Firing five rounds behind me, I kept running in patterns around town while keeping my eyes on my surrounding, hoping to catch sight of Kid anywhere to give me the signal that he got the gold. Another part also hoped that he makes good on his promise to come back for me when things get hairy. Tennessee usually makes good on his promises when it comes to dames in distress. 'I guess when it comes to me he thinks I can handle myself well enough.'

Feeling fatigue set in, I took a break inside a barn in the rafters to take a breather after running and luring guards around for 20 minutes. I never knew that it was harder to keep guards on your tail rather than off.

Taking my hat off, I wiped my forehead of sweat, "Come on, Kid, where are you?" For how much he brags about his skills it shouldn't take him this long to rob the bank. Maybe I'm an impatient women, but when my neck is on the line I don't like to be kept waiting. "That's it, I'm going after him." I placed my hat back on and pulled out my revolvers, "I'll teach him to keep me waiting after having guards shootin' at my tail."

I didn't care for being discreet anymore. I shot at any guard who got in my way from finding Tennessee and giving him a piece of my mind.

And wouldn't you know it, I found him standing around in front of his hide out in a blue get up with a golden cane. What in Sam Hill is he doing standing around his hide out when he should be at the bank?!

"COOPER!" I ran up to him firing both pistols at him, frustrated that he dodged the bullets nimbly. I jumped over to flat, both pistols still aimed at him, "You no good, two faced, lying, two bit rattle snake! I can't believe I trusted you to come back for me!"

"Whoa! Hold on!" He pleaded. Does he think changing his voice would fool me?! "You've got it all wrong! There's a misunderstanding!"

"There is no misunderstanding!" As I walked closer to him he had the nerve to back away, looking innocent and confused, "I've been running around having guards shootin' at my tail for you and you had the nerve to take the gold for yourself and try to disguise yourself?!" I tugged on the triggers, "I've had it with you, Kid! I'm taking you out and I'm going to turn you in to get the bounty on your head! That'll be enough to-"

"I'm not Tennessee Kid Cooper!" The Raccoon held a hand on his heart, "I swear. My name is Sly Cooper. I'm a relative of Tennessee."

I kept my guns on him, "If that's true then why haven't I seen you before?"

"It's a long complicated story." He said before putting his finger to his ear, "Um, Bentley, we have a small problem."

"I don't have time for stories." I retorted, "What are you doing in Tennessee's hide out? Where's Tennessee?"

"Look, I can have my friend explain to you, but you need to come with me inside." He gestures to the door. "We can tell you where Tennessee is."

I didn't know if could believe this turtle for the story he told. For one thing he had tools I've never seen before in my life and the words he used made absolutely no sense to me, but when Sly showed me his Thievius Raccoonus I began to believe them enough to put my guns away. Apparently while I was distracting the guards, Tennessee had been true to his word on robbing the bank as planned, but he somehow found himself in prison. Bentley told me that the one who put him in there was none other than the new Sheriff Toothpick himself! The little snake in the grass never bothered to bust criminals himself so why now and why Tennessee?

Bentley told us that while he looks for more information on Toothpick the rest of us would have to work on getting Tennessee out of jail. That's when I put my two cents in. There was no way I'm helping Tennessee out jail. Now that he's in there I don't have to worry about him getting in on my heist and gold, flirting with me or other girls in front if me, getting my tail shot at because of him, and my students can finally stop hootin' and hollerin' about how great he is. And no matter how much the latter may be true, I'm done risking my neck and tail for Tennessee.

Bentley said that he respects my opinion but it absolutely vital that they save him and since I'm the expert about what goes on in this town, my cooperation was needed. I was still on the fence about it, but when Sly offered up a reward, I took the deal hoping that he was better than Tennessee at keeping promises.

"Alright, what's first?" Sly asked.

"Sly, they're already hanging up the noose for Tennessee, so we don't have time for a complicated plan." Bentley said over some kind of fancy radio, "My data points to one thing, the only way inside the jail quickly is to get you arrested."

"Get myself arrested?" Sly repeated, uneasily, "That might be a challenge. I'm not sure about getting locked up in this town." He quickly turned to me, "No offense."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Eh, with this new Sheriff it's actually quite easy to get locked up round here."

"There's only one problem: They're holding Kid Cooper in the Maximum Security wing. To get yourself thrown in there, you're going to have to gain 'Outlaw' status, so you need to make sure you build a rep before they catch you. Otherwise, you'll get thrown in with the common criminals!"

"Ugh." Sly shuddered at the thought, "You mean like, jay walkers and litterbugs? Not going to happen."

"Actually around here the common criminals are goat thieves, tobacco spitters, and saloon brawlers." I commented.

Sly nodded, "I get the point."

"Why don't you start off by defacing those posters of the sheriff, Sly?"

I jumped off the flat and led Sly around town to where there were big posters of Toothpick. While it was amusing watching him paint different funny pictures of the Armadillo I still thought this was rather kiddy, but if it's to help Sly build a rep as bad as hers and Tennessee's we had to do what we had to. When Sly painted over the last poster we waited back long enough to see that the defacing has actually brought Toothpick out of hiding. I never thought someone so small could drag my town through the mud so much.

"Argh! Now this really chaps my hide!" He shouts, pushing his guards aside in anger, glaring at Sly's artwork, "I'm going to find this artiste and bust his thumbs! And maybe his pinkie." He whispered deviously at the end before storming off in a rage.

I whistled, "That's intimidating." I said sarcastically at Toothpicks threat.

Sly crossed his arms cockily, "Yeah, when we want to tick someone off, we really get the job done."

"Great job, Sly! You really got under his skin! Now Phase two is that the sheriff really loves lollipops, but his favorite is a particular Cuban variety which has to be shipped in specially. Supposedly it tastes like rice and beans."

"Gross!" We winced.

"Agreed. Now if you swipe that lollipop he'll have to wait weeks for the next shipment and that should really tick him off!"

Bentley told us that delivered the lollipop special to Toothpicks house. Coincidentally I knew where that is; when Toothpick came into town he had torn down one of the best motel and turned it into his house. It was located on the far side of town, where the new train ran frequently enough. Sly deducted that the fastest way to get there would be to rail slide. I don't know where he got that idea that I could do it, since it was a Cooper Clan move, but I forgot that Sly is Tennessee's relative from the future, so he had learned the move already. Jumping on Sly's back , we rode on the slick train rails all the way to Toothpick's house. I never knew that rail sliding could be so fun and fast. The wind on my face and hair felt more amazing than roof jumping.

Sly swiped the lollipop and stored it in his bag just as Bentley informed us that Sly just made 'Criminal' status. He then told us to go to the bridge that connected to the fork in the track that led into to town and the other path to the mines.

"Alright, this is going perfectly! You'll be locked up in no time!"

Sly apparently didn't share in Bentley's enthusiasm, "You know you're a little too excited about sending me to the slammer."

"It's all about the job, Sly. Speaking of which, in case you hadn't noticed this Sheriff Toothpick is his own biggest fan. In fact it looks like he's throwing himself a festival and it's in full swing! I'm sure if you take that banner down, it'll be the final straw."

I pulled out one of my guns and handed it to Sly, "Why waste a climb? Shoot the clothes pins holding the banner up. I'll hide out and when Toothpick comes to get you, I'll tail ya'll to the prison hold."

Sly studied the gun, looking unsure how to use it properly. "Uh…"

Standing closely behind him, I helped him hold the gun with two hands and brought it up to his eye level to help him aim, "You just aim and shoot, suga. 'Tant hard."

Sly gulped, "Uh- right. Shouldn't be too hard."

I nodded and left him to it, hiding out behind a couple of water barrels lying around by a hat shop. Even though it took a couple of miss shots, surprisingly, Sly handled my gun really well when shot off all three clothes pins. And right on cue, Toothpick and his Bull guards were right there to catch his crime.

"Hold your fire, boys!" Toothpick shouted, pointing at Sly with his gun, "That there's the scribbling, lolly-thieving outlaw I've been looking for!" Sly discreetly hid my gun in his back pack and stood before Toothpick, not looking at all innocent. "Well, amigo, you just booked yourself a permanent room in the stony lonesome!" He cackled as his guards dressed Sly in a jail bird costume and handed him an iron ball to carry to the prison hold.

"Okay, Lillian, seeing as how Sly is captured at the moment, I need you to look around the strong hold from outside to see if there's any way we can help Sly and Tennessee break out from the outside."

I made my over to the tall water tower and climbed along the pipes to get a clear view of the town, "The prison is actually on the far side of town on the other side of the river. You actually have to use a boat to get there and back. Plus it's surrounded by rock and wall, making it hard to climb in or out."

"Ah-ha! My scanners show there's actually a weakness in the wall! I better tell Sly the news, this could be useful!"

Sly strenuously lugged the iron ball to his new cell with a guard at his back at gun point. While he was surely tempted to knock the guards out with the ball, he stuck with the plan of getting to his ancestor first. He was eager to see his gun slinging ancestor – being the most daring one in all of Cooper lore.

When the cell door closed behind him he looked to the far side of the room and saw his ancestor in the living fur, laid back on the prison bench with his feet propped on a barrel and hat over his eyes.

"Uh, howdy." Sly greeted for lack of better word.

Hearing the new comer, Tennessee lift his hat a bit to see the new raccoon, "Howdy yourself." He greeted back, "Looks like you must've ticked ol' Toothpick off pretty good. I like that." He complemented, "You got a name?"

Sly dropped the iron ball with a heavy thud, "The name's Sly…Sly Cooper."

All nice ties came off on Tennessee when he heard his last name. He dropped his feet off the barrel and glared at Sly, "Now Son, you should know I don't take kindly to folks funnin' on my family name."

Sly waved his hands I defense, just like he did with Lillian, "I'm not joking, I swear." He pulled Lillian's gun from his hidden back pack and showed it to Tennessee, "Lillian can vouch for me."

"Talk ain't worth spit, Boy!" Tennessee stood up, "And I don't appreciate you holdin' my girls' gun."

Sly tucked the gun away, "How can I prove it to you?"

"Only one way to prove you're a Cooper – Bust us out of here!" If he was a true Cooper, then he could get them out of this cell no problem.

"Right!" Sly nodded, "My friend should be working on that…I hope." Lucky for him, Bentley heard him and suggested that he use his iron ball to smash the wall to the cell. Sly lugged his iron ball to the nearby wall and chucked it; breaking through the cement wall like it was nothing.

From the hideout Bentley and Murray cheered when Sly broke through the cement wall. I crossed my arms and stared at the monitor, wondering why they were cheering so early. "They're not out of the prison strong hold yet. How are they going to get out of Maximum Security with the giant walls?"

Bentley cleared his throat and adjusted his glasses, "Yes, you're right." He studied his data again, "Looks like there's plenty of TNT around…perhaps…Sly, you're gonna need Tennessee to carry the TNT to blow the perimeter wall. Needless to say you'll want to make sure he steers clear of things like fire or bullets."

"Naturally. Thanks Bentley."

"Son, who is it that you keep talking to?" Tennessee's voice came through the speaker.

Sly tried to explain that he has a device in his ear that allows him to communicate with his friend from far away and that he's telling him to use the TNT to blow up the gate. Tennessee chuckled and replied that he has voices in his head telling him to blow stuff up too.

I shook my head in amusement. She stood next to Bentley and bent down slightly to speak into the mic, "Now, suga, once you blow up that there gate, it's going to be a straight forward walk to the back wall where there's a weak point."

"Right." Sly panted as he and Tennessee maneuvered around the prison hold avoiding traps, security, and puzzles, "Thanks Lillian."

"Lillian?" Tennessee asked, looking around over the TNT barrel, "You talkin' to her?"

Sly nodded, "Yeah, she's back at the safe house. She's telling me that there's a weak point in the wall around here."

"Well, Lillian ain't one to be wrong about things like this. Tell her I said 'hi'."

Before Sly could relay the message I quickly said, "I don't want to talk to him. Just get out of there."

Sly told Tennessee what I said, but Tennessee is known for being a stubborn idiot. He ignored what Sly said and carried the TNT to the patched up back wall and placed the TNT against it. Walking back over to Sly he grabbed an oil lamp and threw it at the TNT barrel causing the lamp to crack and shatter on impact. The oil and fire spread on the barrel quickly and Tennessee and Sly ran for cover when the fuse lit. By the time the ducked behind the brick pile, the barrel exploded and took out the weak back wall.

"Alright! They're home free!" Murray cheered as Sly and Tennessee paraglide to safety.

Bentley nodded, "Now that they're out, hopefully Tennessee will be able to tell us what we're dealing with here. Miss. Lillian perhaps you can stick around longer and help us out?"

I crossed my arms, "I would love to help your gang out, Bentley but I have my own problems to deal with. As much as I would love to put Toothpick behind bars, I need to secure my school first."

"What do you mean?" He asked, just as Sly and Tennessee came bustling in, donned in their jailbird gear.

"She's trying to earn money for her school and the town." Tennessee answered before tipping his hat to me, "Miss Oakley, fancy meetin' you here."

Growling, I aimed my one gun at him only to have Sly run over to me and push the gun down, "That's right. The money you were supposed to split with me! I could've bought the town right under Toothpick but you had to get yourself caught!"

"Now, now, Miss Lillian, let Tennessee explain what happened."

I pushed my gun into the holster and turned my back to Tennessee, "Fine, let the weasel spill his lies."

Tennessee quickly told his side of the story of what happened earlier today. I hated to admit that he told the truth for the most part. He explained that after I had drawn the guards away from the bank he went to the roof of the bank just as planned. However before he could even get inside Toothpick was there to arrest him and while Tennessee was sent to jail the robbery still took place and the banks gold was stolen! Tennessee was charged even though he was already in prison and the gold was never recovered.

Bentley did a little research and found out that Tennessee was right about Toothpick framing in. I couldn't understand the whole crack about time travel, but I did understand that Toothpick didn't belong here. As much as I hated working with Tennessee, this snake had to go and I needed to get that gold to help the town… and restore Tennessee's honor of course…

Bentley opened up his computer and started a slide show of photos he took around town, "Okay, the first order of business is getting Tennessee his guns back."

"Well, it's just the one gun now," Tennessee interrupted, "I upgraded. But yeah, I need my shootin' iron back!"

This reminded me. I turned to Sly and held out my hand, "May I have my gun back please, suga?"

"Oh yeah." Sly reached into his pack and gave her gun back, "Thanks for letting me hold on to it."

Tennessee leaned over on the table, glaring at Sly, "Hey…how come he gets to hold your guns? You never let me touch your guns."

"Because I trust Sly." I replied, returning my other gun to its holster.

Bentley brought everyone's attention back to the screen, "According to my sources and Miss Lillian, Toothpick closed this old mine a few months back and converted it to a storage facility for stolen goods, including Tennessee's gun! We have to take caring measures on this job, so to not alert suspicion; I will be in disguise and tail Toothpick to the mine and tag it with a homing beacon. Murray will find his way there and use your formidable skill to get the mine open. Then once we have entrance Tennessee can get in and get his guns back! Let's get to work!"

Tennessee, Murray, and I hung back a bit as we watched Bentley tail behind Toothpick. I was impressed that for a turtle in a wheelchair, he handled himself very well when it came to being sneaky. I was even more impressed that despite his massive frame, Murray was able to be sneak y as well.

"I don't get it," Murray panted as he ran along the tracks next to me while Tennessee showed off his rail slide, "If you knew where the mine was, why go through the trouble of having Bentley dress up and tail Toothpick?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Bentley seemed so eager to dress up that I didn't have the heart to-"
"Scorpions?!" Bentley's nasal voice cried out, withdrawing into his shell for protection, "Guys, help!"

Hearing the cry for help we ran faster to aid the poor defenseless turtle. "Yeehaw!" Tennessee cried out, sliding faster along the tracks, "Have no fear the cavalry's a coming!" I pulled out my guns at the same time Murray mounted up on a machine gun.

"Hey no fear chum!" Murray yelled, "I've got the bug spray right here!"

I ran next to Murray and started shooting away at the scorpions that came pouring out of the mine, "You focus on the left and I'll focus on the right!" I ordered over our gun fire.

Murray turned the machine to the left and started firing, "You got it!"

I felt Tennessee come from behind me and spoke up over the bullets firing, "Hit some of them TNT!"

"No back seat shootin' Tennessee!" I shot at the barrels of TNT anyway, "I don't need you to tell me how to shoot!"

After we killed about thirty scorpions we crossed the booby trapped mine to watch Bentley hack into the computer device. I often wonder what it must be like to have those gizmos that they have. In almost no time at all Bentley had finished hacking into the computer and gave Murray ok to pry open the mine door.

"Awesome, Murray!" Bentley praised the hippo when he lifted the huge door enough for Tennessee to slip through, "Okay Tennessee, you're up!"

Tennessee nodded, "Shoot, I'll be in and out quicker than a hyperactive rattlesnake!"

I placed my guns back into my holsters, "No, please, take your time."

Tennessee chuckled, "If I did that then you'll miss me."

"Miss you?" I glared at him, "I'll miss you as much as I-"

Murray groaned with strain, the door lowering a bit, "Uh, guys? This door is kind of heavy!"

Taking the cue, Tennessee quickly dove under the door, nearly losing his hat in the process. Once the door closed we looked at each other a little unsure if Tennessee will be alright on his own in there. I only cared a little bit for his safety. Kid has been in some tough spots before so I'm sure he'll be fine by himself.

"Ok while Tennessee is getting his gun back let's head back to the hide out to plan our next mission."

I was going on the next mission with Sly…not because I didn't want to stay at the hide out twiddling my guns until Tennessee got back to annoy me but to lend Sly my moral support since he still didn't know his way around the town. Bentley wanted him to locate Toothpick's office on the upper level of the saloon and plant some kind of bug to listen in on what Toothpick might be planning. I'm not sure what kind of bug could do all of that, but Bentley hasn't been wrong yet so who was I to argue. Conveniently for us the bar is looking for a new bartender…after I incapacitated the last one…Bentley will go in and play bartender with me as a waitress while Sly will sneak into the side window.

"Your mustache looks…bigger…" Sly commented looking at Bentley's disguise with a suspicious look, "…what have you been feeding it?"

I shook my head as I changed clothes behind Sly while hiding out behind a wagon, "Pay attention, suga."

Bentley went on to tell us that while Sly is moving through the vents we'll intoxicate the goons into submission, that'll give Bentley the opportunity to take control of his little toy and guide it to Toothpick's office.

"You're not going to start wearing that mustache all the time, are you?" Sly asked when Bentley finished explaining the plan.

After I finished dressing in a stolen waitress dress, I walked up to Sly and swatted him in the arm, "Stop foolin' around, suga, and get to the window."

"Are you sure you and Bentley will be okay in there?" Sly asked, "This place looks pretty rough."

I quirked an elegant eyebrow and placed my hands on my hips, "Suga, I grew up in the rough parts of the west, I know how to handle saloon goons." I pointed up to the window, "Now get your ringed tail in there!"

Sly saluted, "Yes ma'am!" He jumped up to a telephone and climbed it up to the saloon side where the window was located. He picked the lock and opened the window from the outside.

I heard the squeaky wheels of Bentley's chair coming from behind me and turned around to greet him. With Sly inside we walked into the saloon, ready to get the mission under way. Bentley manned the bar while I walked around the bar handing out the drinks, swishing my hips and tail to keep them distracted. I couldn't help but shake my head at the low tolerance some of these goons have although some were still standing. I saw a silhouette running across the high walls and knew that Sly was in and on his way to Toothpicks office.

"Hey, sweet thang!" A bull called over waving his hand, "A round of drinks!" He demanded pounding is fist on the table.

Holding back my disgust I swayed over and emptied my tray of drinks on the table, "Enjoy, boys."

I walked back to Bentley for a refill, "How's it going?" I whispered, referring to the mission.

Bentley refilled my tray, to keep up the charade, "Perfect. The bug is in place and we have Toothpicks plan!"

"Great!" I tossed the tray of drinks over my shoulder, not caring where it landed, "Let's get out of here."

After we got back from the bar Bentley sent Kid out on a mission to scout out any new leads on Toothpick. Instead of finding Toothpick, he finds something else. Thanks to the camera he gave Kid we were able to see what he was seeing and it looks like Toothpick found a hostage just like he said in his plans.

"Hmm, that's not good." Tennessee said through the computer, "Looks like Toothpick rustled himself a pretty lady." Leave it to Tennessee to find damsels in distress.

Bentley squinted at the screen, studying the struggling female fox, before flipping out, "Sweet jumping jackrabbits! That's no lady! That's Carmelita! What's she doing here?!"

"You know her?" Tennessee asked sounding shocked that someone like Bentley would know a pretty fox like Carmelita.

"I'm afraid so." Bentley slumped in his wheel chair, "Something's very wrong here, Tennessee! But all quantum physics aside we have to rescue her! Nobody can get there faster than you! I'll grab the others and we'll meet you with the van! Just get going!"

There was no way I was going to let him handle all that alone, "Hang on, Tennessee." I said to the computer, "I'm coming to help."

"Don't you worry any, Lillian," Tennessee said already running after Toothpick and his goons, "Heck, rescuing pretty ladies is a hobby of mine."

Loading up my guns I glowered at the screen, "Yeah…one I can't stand…" I pointed my loaded gun to Bentley and Murray, "Load up that station wagon and get me over there."

By the time we caught up to the wagon Tennessee had the situation under control and had pulled Carmelita from the caravan before it went tumbling over the cliff. Being his no good two faced self he tried to turn on his charm to the fox, taking his hat off and everything, "Pleased to meet you, ma'am! Why I'm Tennessee Kid…"

The fox freed herself from her binds and pointed a finger at him, "Don't tell me! You're a Cooper!" She nearly stomped her foot in rage, "I knew it!"

Tennessee seemed unaffected by it, "Yes, Ma'am. Bentley told me-"

She pointed her finger at him again, "And stop calling me 'Ma'am!" The name's Inspector Fox!" She placed her fists on her hips ready to start yelling again before she calmed down almost instantly, "Wait, Bentley's here?"

Tennessee must've finally noticed us when he looked up the cliff side, "Well, looks like they're right behind us."

Sly stepped closer to the edge with a look of relief to see the fox women, "Carmelita! I'm glad you're okay." However it looked like Carmelita didn't share in his feelings because before she could spit out more rage Toothpick and his goons' pop out from behind the van! How could we have forgotten about them?!

"Much obliged for the help, Inspector Fox! Lemme run these bandidos over to the prison and I'll come back for you all lickety-split." He cackled before he pointed his gun at me, "Aaww! And we got the goody-goody teacher to boot! I hear you're trying to raise money for your two-bit school for the little kiddies." Oh how I wanted to punch that smirk of his dry scrunched up face, "Well, guess what toots – you're school is mine!" He laughed, "I looted and booted everyone out of there." He bragged enjoying seeing me grind my teeth together in rage, "I'm going to turn that little school into a Cuban lolli stand just for me!"

I kicked and squirmed against the guards, "Why you balmy, barrel boarder, fogy, mudsill!" I cursed as they dragged us away, "You touch my school or a hair on those kids, I'll slate you so much your burro won't recognize you!"

"Ooh, is that a challenge lil' Oakley? Think you can last against me?"

"You'd last as long against me as a pint of whiskey in a five-handed poker game!" If he didn't have these goons restraining me I would set him straight.

"You know," He turned to Tennessee and Carmelita; "If you're feelin' neighborly you can turn yourselves in! hehehehehe!"

"So, uh…Lillian," Sly cut through the miserable silence we were forced to endure in the suspended tiny cage…well it felt tiny with Murray in here, "How did you come to know my ancestor?"

I lifted my head up from my arm, "Why so curious, suga?" Although he probably wouldn't hurt to spin the tale, it's not like we were going anywhere.

He rubbed the back of his head, "Well, it's just that it seems that you and Tennessee have a…" He looked away for a second to think of the right word, "…well tense relationship?"

I chuckled at him, pushing the brim of my hat above my eyes, "Sure nuff. He made it that way. Now Kid and I had quite a few things in common and back when we first met we actually got along to the point of partnership until one day he double crossed me." It still burned me to think of that day. Literally. "He asked me to join in on one his usual heist and even tho' I knew how risky Kid gets on his heist, I went along anyway. Course everything went on fine and dandy until Kid decided to get daring and blew up the bank we were stealin' from nearly blowin' me up too! And wouldn't you know it that he made his get way with all the loot and left me behind with the sheriffs! He was grinning like a weasel in a hen house and I never forgot it. Sure he apologized after I tried to retire after that and I decided to give him a chance and you'd think I'd know better after the countless of times he'd leave me in the dust, but I guess it's my fault for being so trusting for him!" I jumped up and rattled the cage bars in a fit of rage, "And look where it gets me! I'm so sick of going to jail for that liar!"

"Doesn't her temper kind of remind you of Inspector Fox?" Murray whispers to Bentley.

"And who is this 'Inspector Fox' anyway?" I bit out, still steamed that this Fox showed up and Kid was all over her like a pig.

"She's Sly's ex-girlfriend-"

"She my girlfriend-"

I tilted my head to the side, "That explains so much and yet so little, but I think I understand. You still think of her as your girlfriend but you obviously did something and she thinks of you as her ex."

Bentley nods, "That is correct."

"Huh," I adjusted my hat, and looked at Sly and said softly, "Well, if it's any consolation you're more honorable than your ancestor."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Tennessee's drawl rang through our ears which was surprising over all the gun fire. We all stood up and watched the shoot out happen between Kid and about forty guards. We yelled at Tennessee to shoot the locks around the cage to set us free which wasn't too hard for him with his crack shot technique. Once we were freed and the guards were dealt with, Carmelita came running in.

"Carmelita!" Sly cried out worriedly, "Are you alright?"

"I am," She said pleasantly before biting, "No thanks to you! I should leave you in that cage after what you pulled Sly Cooper."

"I can explain everything." He said trying to make peace.

But Carmelita wasn't listening. She pressed herself against Tennessee, "Why if it wasn't for this handsome and charming gentleman, I wouldn't even be here."

Tennessee chuckled uneasily but he made no move to pull away, "Aww, shucks…" He covered his eyes with his hat using his gun.

This had Sly and me riled, "Handsome and charming? Really?"

I pointed my finger at them, "There's nothing handsome and charming about that backwards dizzy side-winder. If anything Sly is the true gentlemen!"

I was shocked this Fox had the nerve to point her gun at the throat, "Save it!" Then she points to Sly, "All I wanna know right now is how do I get back to Paris!" She stormed off in a rage and only Bentley was quick to follow asking her how she arrived here in the first place. Murray began fussing about what happened to the van but unfortunately for him we had to worry about it later.

As we walked back to Tenessee's hide out, I didn't know I couldn't stomach more, watching Sly try to win his 'girlfriends' heart or watching it fall flat as the fat cow try to flirt with Tennessee. What's worse is that Tennessee wasn't all that bothered by it. Who does this fox think she is ignoring a great and honorable thief like Sly and going after a lying traitor Kid? I don't know what's she's playing but she better stay out of my way.

-0-0- next day-0-0-

Our next mission was going to be a dozy with all of us working at once. Bentley informed us that Toothpick planned on using once of the trains to transport the gold he stole using the van they took from Murray. Sadly if they don't get the van back then they're going to be stuck in the wrong time period. Getting on the train with all that security was going to be a challenge, but we had to steal back what was stolen while the train was in motion. Being experts at train robbing Tennessee and I were confident until Bentley began sputtering about small challenges…something about winning challenges to get keys to change the train tracks. Shoudn't be too hard to accomplish with the Toothpick festival going on and the gurds will be carrying the keys on them. Murray will be in the brawl competition, Sly will be racing in the Toothpick 500, and Bentley chose Carmelita to get into a shooting contest with Red-eye, while I will be in a singing competition…as a cancan dancer! I thought he was an intelligent turtle!

One day I will get back at him for this – and Kid for choosing the dress!

"Are you sure you want to do this, lilian?" Kid asked me for the 20th time. I was honestly surprised he was here right now when he should be posing as the announcer for the other events.

Fixing my new costume I gave Kid a dirty look, "I'm only doing this to get my gold back and no other reason!" I poked him in the chest, enjoying the intimidated look in his lively grey eyes, "And after this whole mess is over I don't want you within 200ft of me, my school, and my house!" With that I picked up my ruffle skirt and walked into the saloon, taking in the smell of alcohol and tobacco and the rowdy men booing the unfit competition off the stage. I winced when they started throwing tomatoes and beer bottles and was that a butcher knife?!

Bentley better hope I live through this. I walked behind stage and waited for my turn to go on. Didn't have to wait long with the crowd booing everyone off the stage so quickly and I could tell the cancan wasn't going to cut it. I had to win the crowd's attention. Grabbing a large robe I covered myself.

"You're on next sweetheart." A jack rabbit snickered, "Don't be too scared."

Putting on a coy smile I waited for the curtains to close before stepping out, "Don't worry, I don't scare easy." I dealt with children for crying out loud.

I closed my eyes and listened to the piano man change the song to a softer tune. The curtains parted and I opened my eyes to men getting ready to throw things at me, but not after this.

"Dearest friends, dear gentlemen

Listen to my song~

They slowly put down their weapons

"Life down here's been hard for you

Life has made you strong." I smiled when I noticed that some of their jaws dropped in awe.

"Let me life the mood~

With my atti~tude~" The piano beat picked up a bit and I walked back and forth across the stage.

"Hey fellas

The time is right

Get ready

Tonight's the night

Boys, what you're hopin' for will come true

Let me be good to you." I pointed and winked to a smitten coyote.

"You tough guys

You're feelin' all alone

You rough guys

The best o' you sailors and bums

All o' my chums

So dream on

And drink your beer

Get cozy

Your baby's here

You won't be misunderstood." I walk backwards to the curtain and slowly pulled them to cover myself.

Let me be good to you~" I closed the curtain and quickly got rid of the robe just in time when the band struck up the beat. When the curtain opened again I hiked up my skirt to show my legs and waved my hand to the cherring crowd.

"Hey fellas!

I'll take off all my blues

Hey fellas

There's nothin' I won't do." I waved a finger at a bull trying to grab at my leg and pushed him awy with my foot, not missing a beat. "Just for you

So dream on

And drink your beer

Get cosy

Your baby's here

Hey boys, I'm talkin' to you

Your baby'y gonna come through

Let me be good to you~!"

I heard Tennessee's voice over the whistling and cheering, announcing that I was the only finalist for the talent competition. Meaning that I was already the winner and I should be receiving my prized key any…minute…now? Where's the key?

"Sorry, Lillian, but it looks like you're going to have to sing one more song to win the owner over." Bentley informed me, sounding nervous, "You've already buttered up the crowd, but she wants to hear a particular genre of song." Of course she does… "Rumor has it that her husband left her and she's feeling down…"

I could almost roll my eyes, "Let me guess…the blues…"

"I'm afraid so…" Bentley said regrettably.

"Luckily I know one song that's the blues…" I moved back over to the mic after nodding to the band to start playing. I tuned my voice down a bit and looked at the crowd.

My mamma dun tol' me~

When I was in pigtails,

My mamma dun tol' me, Hon,

A man's gonna sweet talk,

He'll give you the big eye,

But when the sweet talking's done~

A man is a two-face,

A worrisome thing, who'll leave you to sing,

The blues~ in the night." I moved my hands and hips lightly, to the imagination of rain and hearing a train whistle,

"Now the rains a-fallin'

Hear the trains a-callin', whoo~ee!

My mamma dun tol' me,

Hear the lonesome whistle

Blowin' across the trestle, whoo~ee !

My mamma dun tol' me,

A-whooee-ah-whooee, a-clickety-clack,

And answer and back,

The blues in the night."

I put as much soul in the next part as my mamma would.

"From Natchez to Mobile,

From Memphis to St. Joe,

Wherever the four winds blow!

I've been in some big towns

And heard me some big talk,

But there is one thing that I know.

A man is a two-face, a worrisome thing who'll leave you to sing,

The… blues~ in the night!

Oooooohhhhhhhh~!"

The crowd erupted again, some cheering and some crying. Whatever the case was, I jumped off the stage and ran to the owner of the bar, swiping the key out of her hand while she was still crying and ran out of the bar and to the hide out to meet up with the others to give Bentley the keys.

"Okay, eyes front everyone." We stopped our chattering to focus on Bentley's show, "The clock is ticking on this one so we don't have time to fool around. Toothpick's gold train is rolling and with our van it's going to be impossible to stop. Thanks to Tennessee we were able to divert the train's route which gives us the chance we need to catch it. First Murray will get the van that located on the back of the train acting as a booster rocket. Carmelita, Miss Lillian, and I will tackle the next set of cars. I need their keen-eye shooting skills to cover me while I make my way to the terminal on the far side of the train…" I was not looking forward to working with her, "…with some hacking I'll be able to reroute some of the power to the steam whistles because we all know how Toothpick hates high pitched sounds. Sly and Tennessee are up next. To ensure that we get Toothpick we need to cover all the exits. Sly will cover the roof of the train while Tennessee moves through the cars where we'll be able to reclaim your gold along the way."

"His gold?!" I snapped, "Don't you mean my gold?"

"Shucks, Lillian," Tennessee leaned over in his chair closer to me with that arrogant smirk on his face, "It can be both of our gold if you really want."

"I'd really want you to-"

"Guys," Bentley whined, "Focus! Sly and Tennessee should reach the front of the train at the same time to take Toothpick down and the rest of us will catch up in the van." He closed down the projection at give everyone a pointed look, "One last thing: Don't forget we're a team. Time to put anger and differences aside or else we'll never be able to pull this off."

I crossed my arms and glared at Tennessee and Carmelita. Once again Bentley made sense. "I guess…I should apologize for my hostile behavior…" That was hard to admit, but it seemed to have broken the horses back.

Tenessee rubbed the side of his head, "Ah…I should apologize to you Lillian, fer always leaving you behind and not making true on our deals. T'aint right the trouble I've caused ya over the years." For once since all the time that I've known him, Kid had a serious look on his face, "I swear to ya, Lillian that I'll make good on my promise this time. Once we take care of ol' Toothpick I'll give you 50 percent of the gold. No stings attached." For some reason, deep in my heart, I believed him this time. Something told me that Kid would make good on his promise.

I nodded my head slowly and stepped closer to Kid, "If you make good on that then, maybe, just maybe, I'll let you hold one of my guns."

"And maybe something else?" He added cheekily. I knew what he was hinting to.

"Don't press your luck."

After a few heart to heart moments we all set to work on executing the plan as perfectly as we could. Murray pulled of his job without too many problems. Carmelita and I came to a mutual agreement of not touching each other's stuff and pulled our job like pros. When Murray pulled up to the side with the van we all hopped on and raced along the train, hoping Sly and Tennessee pull off their part well.

"Tennessee's in the first wagon!" Bentley announced rolling to the side of the van to load up a big gun with a plunger attached to it, "He's bringing out the first wagon of gold!"

The side wagon door blew open and sure enough Tennessee was there swinging his gun around his finger. "Whoo-ee! I just may retire when this is done!" I knew he was joking. Thieving was in his blood.

After stealing two more wagons and loading up the loot in large bags to carry back Bentley told Tennessee that we'll get the rest later because Sly is having a showdown with Toothpick right now. Not one to leave a relative behind Tennessee went ahead to confront Toothpick himself…only to be ambushed and have his gun taken away!

"Kid!" I yelled when I saw him hit the ground.

"Don't worry, Lillian." I heard Sly said over the radio, "I'll get his gun back." We watched Sly battle it out with Toothpick and Bentley sure was right about the whistles working to Sly's advantage.

"Yeeeeoooowch!" Toothpick wailed as he sailed out of the train's smoke stack and landed near a recovered Tennessee, burnt to a crisp. Tennessee grabbed Toothpick and tossed him off the train before jumping off himself. Taking his cue, I knew it was time for me to jump off as well. Grabbing the sacks of loot I gave the others a two finger salute before jumping out the back of the van. Tennessee met me half way with Toothpick tied up and under his boot. For someone who lost his precious gun, he looked pretty darn happy. "I see you got the gold."

I smirked coyly at him, "And I see you got the criminal."

Tennessee looked over my shoulder scratched his head confused, "What in tarnation are they up to?"

I turned around to see that not only was the train heading off the tracks, but so were the others. "Why aren't they stopping?" Instead of getting an answer another sack of gold landed in front of us.

"An' I was just wonderin' where the rest of the gold had gotten to."

I watched the can fall over the cliff, "Do you think they're alright?"

"Sure." Kid tossed the gold over his shoulder, "Let's get back to town and deal with this low down varmint."

And so…when all was said and done Tennessee kept true to his promise and gave me 50 percent of the gold from the heist…plus interest. We had Toothpick and goons locked up in the new and improved maximum security with no chance of bail. With the gold I was able to sell the old Mayor for a better one that actually cared out the town and made it better than it was before. And with the left over gold I improved my school as well as my house. Strangely Tennessee kept to my other promise of not coming near me when everything was said and done…and I hadn't minded until my students brought it up a few times during class. Despite being a criminal thief he is a hero…it wasn't fair of me to cut him off of my life after everything. Plus I'm worried about his well being after having his gun stolen. If I'm so attached to my guns I can't imagine how Kid must be feeling right now.

One day, after the persisting of my students, I went to check on Tennessee and to say he looked sadder than a horse with no giddy-up, "Kid… are you okay?"

Sadly, Kid shook his head, "Not really, Lillian…I just don't feel right without my shootin' iron. No other gun feels right…" He sighed and hung his head lower, "…I wish there was some way to get my gun back."

'Poor Tennessee.' I sat next him placing on hand on his and rubbed his back with the other. That gun was his legacy… it's not like he can get another one…if only there was some way to get Bentley's help.

"Don't worry, Kid." I soothed as best I could, "Things will work out…some how…"

Tennessee placed his hand on top of mine and smiled softly, "Thank ya kindly, Lillian…"

To perk him up a bit I leaned in to kiss his cheek….of course the sneaky devil must've saw it coming and turned his head so I could get his lips. That's what I was aiming for anyway.

After pulling away we cuddled against each other on the small bed. I rested my head on his chest, and sighed contently, getting comfortable. Tennessee's large, bushy grayish-brown tail snaked it's way over to mine and wrapped around it; he brought me a little closer due to the small nudge his tail gave me, which made me giggle a little. Tennessee smiled and kisses the top of my head. This wasn't so bad…until a disturbing white/blue light appeared out of no where all of a sudden. Jumping up from Tennessee I pulled out my guns and aimed and ready to pull the triggers, but Tennessee pulled my guns down and imagine our surprise when Bentley came rolling out of the light acting more jittery than a than a hyperactive rattle snake. Basically in broken English he told us that Sly was in trouble as well as the Cooper time line and he needed all of Sly's ancestors to come with him to reclaim their canes (plus Tennessee's gun) to restore history!

Naturally Tennessee jumped at the chance and with one swift long kiss that left me dazed, he hopped into the white light and vanished…leaving me standing there wondering what the heck to do until he got back

-0-0- roughly an hour later -0-0-

I was never really one to wait around. Right when I was getting ready to walk out the door, Tennessee reappeared behind me in a white light again, hootin' and hoolerin' waving his precious gun around like a toy, "Uh-huh! The Kid is back in business! Yee-haw!"

I watched him dance around with my eyes, "So I recon' it went well?"

Tennessee stopped his dancing and shifted his hat, "Well…not entirely sure. I disappeared before any of the real action started, but it was rippin' good time seeing all my ancestors. One was hairy and one talked funnier than a two-headed jackalope, but it was-"

I placed a finger on his lips with a warm smile. I'm sure if I let him talk I would be up all night. Stepping closer until I was pressed against him, I leaned in, "Why don't you tell me in the morning?"

"Yer sure? Cause it's an amazing story! You can tell you're students-"

I silenced him with a long kiss. Sometimes…Kid was just too much…but he's the only thief who can match me.