Hey folks, hope you've been enjoying Thief of the Ancients. This chapter goes a ways back into Albotross's story, more specifically the accident that charged him. So sit back and enjoy the in depth story.
Albotross wakes up with a start.
That dream agian, ugh im never gonna get any sleep if it keeps up. He thinks to himself as he sits up and rubs the sleep from his eyes. Albotross is a red furred wolf pup. He is the seven year old son of Sly Cooper, and Carmelita Fox/Cooper.
Kittrina is across the room curled up with her warm cuddly tails all fanned out. She is a red and beige nine tails fox kit. She had a defect at birth, she is four tails short of nine. But she doesn't have a problem with fire abilities. Its only when she lights up like a candle that she does, most of her clothes aren't flame retardant.
They look so fluffy. I bet I could fall asleep on those again real fast. Albotross thinks as he swings his legs off the bed. He hops down and steps on an action figure that was on the floor.
Kittrina sits up and looks around the room. The action figure is still on and its light is gonna keep her awake. She gets up and walks to Albotross's side of the room.
"Alby you need to stop leaving your toys here. One day your stab your foot with these." She whispers as she puts the toy on his wall. The lump on the bed doesn't move.
Sound sleeper today. That's good, mom and dad were getting worried for him again. She thinks as she pats the pile sleepily.
She doesn't notice that it's to soft to be Albotross, who managed to create a pseudo sleeper and use the invisibility move while she did all this. He creeped to her bed slowly as she patted the bed. Albotross silently hopped into her bed and waited for her to come back.
Kittrina yawning hops back into her own bed after a few minutes. She lays with her back and tails to Albotross. When she settles down Albotross moves so that he's laying with his back to her and his head is on some tails.
Kittrina bolts up.
"Alby!? How did you get in my bed? You should still be in yours!" She exclaims.
"I had the nightmare again. Same as before and more vivid this time. When I woke up I thought maybe I could sleep next to you? Just till it goes away tonight. " Albotross says pleading with her. Kittrina looks at him worriedly and nods.
"Alright Alby. But you have to tell mama and papa about this. And uncle Bentley is here tomorrow, or in this case later today. So tell him too, maybe he can help get rid of your nightmares." Kittrina says making him promise to tell them. He swears to tell them everything when they come wake them up.
"Good. And nice decoy on the bed. But get something firmer next time. Its a little to soft compared to your growing muscles." Kittrina says laying back down like they were before. Albotross chuckles a little.
"It fooled you well enough. Good night Kit." Albotross says laying under the blanket. Kittrina let's him use some of her tails as pillows.
"Good night Alby." She says falling asleep with him after a few minutes of cuddling each others backs.
The next morning Carmelita walks in to find Albotross nestled inside of Kittrina's tails with her. They're nose to nose and their hands are covering each other's. Smiling softly she walks over to the bed and passes a hand through their hair. They both nestle up to her hand as it passes their heads.
"Come on my loves. Time to wake up. We have a full day of fun to have." She says softly, nudging their shoulders.
"Mmmmmmmm...mama? Oh good morning." Kittrina says sitting up, her tails shifting and tickling Albotross nose. He mumbles, scrunches his nose and then turns and falls back asleep.
"Albotross Lumis Cooper, you need to get up." Carmelita says a little more sternly. She shakes his shoulder and he opens his eyes, but doesn't move.
"Mama, I'm up, I'm up!" Albotross whines as she keeps shaking him. She stops and crosses her arms waiting for him to move. Albotross huffs and sits up, his eyes drooping, heavy with sleep. He yawns and stretches the upper half of his body.
"Are you awake now?" Carmelita asks, he nods and scratches his belly.
"Good, now come on and get dressed its time for breakfast." She says petting him and Kittrina gently. Before leaving Carmelita bends down and kisses both of them on the forehead leaving green kiss marks.
"Happy St. Patrick's day babies." She says walking back out the room. As soon as the door is shut, Albotross lays back down.
"Come on Alby, your gonna miss breakfast if you go back to sleep now." Kittrina says trying to pull him off the bed. Albotross groans and let's her drag him to the edge of the bed. She huffs as she reaches the edge and just lets him hang there.
Kittrina then thinks of something to get him up. She quickly fluffs her tails, making them even puffer then before,and slowly drags each one across his nose. Albotross scrunches his nose and tries to roll away but being on the edge of her bed doesn't give him a lot of options to hide his nose.
After a minute Albotross nose starts tingling. Getting up Albotross rushes to the bathroom and a loud sneeze can be heard from the open door.
"Ugh...At least I have green now." He says through the door. Kittrina cringes at the image, but shrugs and goes to the closet.
Half an hour later Albotross and Kittrina come out of their room dressed. Albotross is in a black shirt with green flames rising from the bottom, a pair of jean shorts and a pair of sneakers all black. Kittrina is in a green plaid sun dress with white jeans and green floral sandals.
"Oh, you two are so precious." Carmelita says pulling out two plates of eggs, english muffins, and ham.
"Sorry no green color babies. Mama doesn't want you getting sick." She says pulling them both into a hug after putting the plates on the table. Both of them hug Carmelita back and nuzzle under her neck. She kisses their heads again and let's them get to eating. They sit straight backed and elbows off the table as they take napkins and put them on their laps.
Albotross starts with the ham and makes a small sandwich with one english muffin. With the other he uses it to soak up the yolk and eats the egg white alone before nibbling the yoke soaked muffin. Kittrina does something similar but puts both eggs in her muffin and let's the other soak all the yoke with the ham.
They finish twenty minutes later and clear the table of their plates. Albotross starts cleaning both dishes while Kittrina pulls out juice boxes for them. When their finished they throw the juice boxes in a recycle bin and go to the living room.
"Well there are my two little crooks. Come and give papa a hug." Sly says as they walk in. Both of them smile wide and nearly tackle Sly to the couch. He chuckles as they hug him around his middle.
"Heh I was only gone an hour or two guys."
"But we missed you papa. Oh did you bring us anything?" Albotross asks, his tail wagging in anticipation. Kittrina's tails start wagging too.
"Yes I did actually, but it's gonna be a surprise. Gotta wait later today to get it." Sly says petting them both they wag harder and nuzzle his hands. Then go back to give him one last hug before heading outside to play.
Its cloudy and windy outside, like it's gonna rain, but so far the morning has been dry. Albotross and Kittrina are wearing jackets just in case though. Sly and Carmelita follow close behind making sure they don't hurt themselves. Albotross is climbing trees and hopping from one to another. Kittrina is following him under the branches swinging effortlessly between trees.
Kittrina stops to land on the ground and dust herself off. Albotross grins a little to himself and quietly descends the tree to a low hanging branch. Kittrina is dusting her arms as Albotross manages to get behind her upside down. As gently as he can Albotross lifts the green four leaf clover bobby pin. Kittrina feels her hair fall loose when it's taken.
"Hey! Give that back!" She yells as Albotross climbs the tree quickly again, narrowly escaping her hand by the fur on his neck. He laughs as he climbs and Sly chuckles as he watches the two of them.
"You want it sis. Gotta come and get it." Albotross calls down. Carmelita huffs a little but stays with Sly.
"I wish you wouldn't teach them to be thieves. But you don't know when your next chance will arrive so you need to pass the family name somehow." Carmelita says as Sly keeps her warm in his embrace.
"I know my love, but remember, we steal only from other thieves. Meaning she probably took something from him, he'll give it back. Let them have their fun my sweet." Sly says petting her. She looks at him a little skeptical but it turns into a smile as she kisses his nose.
Albotross is at the top of the tree watching the light bounce off the bobby pin. Kittrina struggles to get up past the middle of the tree branches.
"Alby! Give me back my pin!" Kittrina says getting stuck again. She descends the tree waiting to see if he'll give it. Albotross climbs to a low.
"Make me." He says sitting on the branch. He holds the pin between two fingers. Kittrina puffs out her cheeks her tails flicking in anger. Concentrating on her hand she makes a small fireball. Albotross grin fades as she aims and tosses it at his branch. He jumps and is missed by a hair as he lands on a tree next to the one he was in. Quickly he puts the pin back in her hair and grabs a twig to make it look like he still has it. Kittrina not noticing prepares another fire ball.
"Kittrina Ana'is Cooper! Don't you dare fire that flame!" Carmelita exclaims coming up to her. Kittrina fizzles out the flame from her hand. Looking down at her feet, she blushes hard as Carmelita looks at her disappointed.
"Oh Mij'a why would you put your brother in danger like that? You scared me and papa." Carmelita says getting on her knees in front of Kittrina to be Eye level with her.
"But he stole my pin. Its the special one you gave me and he took it." Kittrina whimpers as her eyes water.
"Oh baby, he was only playing. Besides I have some more that I know you'll love. So how about you apologize to your brother, then we go get your uncle who just called and get you some more special pins ok?" Carmelita asks smoothing down her hair. Kittrina doesn't feel the pin pas behind her ear and clip when Carmelita passes her hand through. Wiping her eyes Kittrina nods.
"I'm sorry for trying to turn you into a burning puppy Alby." Kittrina says. Albotross swings down to a low hanging branch, and hangs for a minute. Swinging forward a little Albotross licks her nose then swings back up into the tree.
"Apology accepted." He says through the branches. He sees her blush and almost light her tails on fire.
Sly chuckles and Carmelita smiles.
"Alright sweetie come on. Papa and your brother can stay here for another few hours while we go get uncle Bentley." Carmelita says standing up and offering Kittrina hers. Kittrina takes it and waves bye to Albotross and Sly. They both wave back.
"Albotross why didn't you give your sister her pin back?" Sly asks in a firm tone. Albotross gets a sheepish look and opens his hand to reveal the twig impersonation.
"I did, but I didn't take it for nothing. She took one of my toys and hasn't given it back. Besides I like her with her hair down." Albotross confesses. Sly let's out a sigh.
"Buddy I know that you'd have traded your toy for the pin had she not tried. But don't do that again ok. You made me and mama worried when she threw that fire ball." Sly says. Albotross pops his head out of the leaves.
"Ok papa. Wanna keep playing. Mama and Kit don't get back for a while, especially if they're going to get uncle Bentley." Albotross says. Sly smiles up at the wolf pup. Then jumps into the tree with him.
Twenty minutes later Sly is chasing a laughing Albotross through branches. Albotross is surprisingly flexible and quick to get through all the branches. Sly manages to catch up to him only for him to get ahead again. After a few more minutes Sly descends the tree.
"Alright Al, time to get down." Sly says from the ground.
"Aww... Ok I'm coming." Albotross calls down. Neither of them notice the thunderstorm that's moved in over head. Albotross gets snagged on a tree branch and can't reach anything to pry himself free. He struggles for a while.
Sly is getting impatient and worried. They both hear the crack of thunder from a nearby lighting strike. Albotross struggles harder, Sly looks around for him.
"Albotross, son, where are you?" Sly calls looking around, he can hear Albotross all over the place. It's too quiet that the sound is echoing all over the place.
"Papa I'm over here!" Albotross calls from ten trees down from him. Sly starts towards him.
"Keep calling buddy papa's coming." Sly says, another lighting strike, closer this time, gets Sly at a jog. He passes Albotross as he calls out. Turning around he tries listening harder. Lighting strikes a nearby tree and ignites it. Albotross starts screaming which confuses Sly more as he reaches a tree next to him that's just bouncing off the scream.
"Papa!" Is all Sly hears as another lighting bolt passes through Albotross and ignites the tree. Sly looks up and seeing the now unconscious Albotross hanging on a branch by the hood of his sweater he leaps into the blaze regardless of his own safety. He pulls Albotross who's eyes are wide open and he is giving off a discharge. But listening to his chest he's still breathing, with an accelerated heart beat. Sly jumps down and keeps Albotross covered as he runs the half a mile and three New York blocks to their home. He's arriving as Carmelita is pulling up. As she gets out she's smiling till she sees Sly panting and running with Albotross in a makeshift cover.
"Sly oh God what happened?!" Carmelita asks as she runs up to him. Bentley and Kittrina come around from the other side. Bentley holds back a worried looking Kittrina.
"We were playing. I told him it was time to go. He got stuck in a tree, and we didnt notice the dark clouds. I tried getting him out but the trees...and his voice was all over...oh God's he was struck by lightning! Bentley! We need your help!" Sly yells. Carmelita goes and scoops up Kittrina who's trying to look over her shoulder.
"Mama what happened to Alby?" Is all you hear as Carmelita takes her inside.
Bentley pulls the coat off of Albotross who's staring right at them. His breaths are coming in short bursts and his fur is turning grey. The electrical discharge is sparking off of him like a discharge in one of the electric balls in a science museum.
"Ok Sly, I need you to get me some rubber gloves and clothes. Its all in my bag in the trunk. And then I'm gonna need to take him somewhere secluded for a while. I might take him to the island. I've been working on a teleportation system that's connected to my chair." Bentley says in quick succession knowing what Sly would ask. Sly quickly runs to the car and grabs everything Bentley needs.
Two minutes later Bentley has Albotross in his chairs robotic arms, which are now covered in plastic too keep from shorting out and shocking Bentley. Sly has gone inside to dry off from the starting rain. Albotross fur is still turning grey, before it was only the ears and tips of his fingers, now it's reached down to his neck and up from his feet to mid thigh. Bentley pulls a small remote from his chair when he gets inside the house after Sly. Kittrina tries walking up to Bentley and Albotross, but Sly and Carmelita block her.
"We're sorry baby but you can't see Alby right now." Carmelita says. Kittrina throws a tantrum and lights on fire.
"Kit, little one, calm down please. Uncles gonna take your brother for a bit to help him." Sly says, this calms her down some. Bentley enters a code on the remote and his chair opens a little more.
"Ok, I'll contact you as soon as he's stable." Bentley says. Activating the teleporter he and Albotross are sucked into a bright light and Sly, Carmelita, and Kittrina are staring at a blank spot where Bentley's chair was. And they all worry about what will happen to Albotross over the next few hours, possibly days.
The next morning Sly who has been up all day and night with Carmelita gets a call on his binocucom.
"Sly! You there?"
"Yeah Bentley! Any change?!"
"Astonishing change really! Hold on let me get him on." Some noise on the other line and then Sly sees a greyed version of Albotross. He smiles weakly.
"Hi papa." He says in a raspy voice. Sly breaks down in tears of joy. Carmelita takes the binocucom and breaks down herself when she sees Albotross.
"Bentley when can you get us out there?" Sly asks.
"Hold on I'll see if I can pick you three up. Its best if all of you come see him." Bentley says. Sly looks confused which confuses Carmelita as Kittrina wakes up. When she walks up to Carmelita they all turn into bright lights.
They feel themselves land on solid ground.
"Well that worked better than I thought." Bentley says. Sly stands up and hugs Bentley and Then looks around for Albotross.
"Where is he B? Where is Albotross?" Sly asks. Bentley turns in his chair and heads towards the door.
"Follow me." Bentley says. Sly follows with Carmelita carrying Kittrina close behind. In five minutes they stop at a door to a hospital room. Sly opens the door and spots Albotross in a hospital gown and hooked up to a few machines.
"Hmm? Papa, mama, Kit! Hi!" Albotross says in a raspy voice. He tries sitting up but then the machines start beeping as he struggles. A weird field of energy forms around him.
"Get down!" Bentley yells as he shuts the door. An electrical pulse shakes everything behind the door. They hear a gentle thud from Albotross hitting his pillow again. Opening the door Sly and Carmelita look inside. Everything electronic looks like it got hit by a power surge and shorted out. Albotross is laying down again groaning.
"Whoa, Alby what happened ?" Kittrina asks walking up to a knocked over stool by his bed. She picks it up and sets it so she's standing next to him. Carmelita follows and smoothies his hair down. She pulls her hand back quickly though as all the static cling on him is sending nerve tickling sparks all up her arm.
"Ugh. I don't know, it happened when I woke up last night too. Uncle Bentley ended up shorting out his chair and the first set of equipment when I sat up last night. I haven't slept since but even if I could, this head ache I het when that happens keeps me awake." Albotross grasps as he slowly tries massaging his head. Sly closes the door as the room automatically restarts itself.
"Wanna go into more detail?" Sly asks.
"I could tell you if I knew. But as it is, this is the first time something like this happened. By all rights when I resuscitated him he should have been an old man. But his heart is somehow still active. Problem is I have him hooked up to energy dampeners because of that. If I took them off and let him be for even a second. His heart would be likely to become an EMP and kill him in the process sue to its quintupled speed."
"Whoa, Whoa, Whoa, did you just say his heart rate is beating five times faster than normal! If that's the case he should've died last night." Sly says as quietly as possible. He looks inside the door to watch both Carmelita and Kittrina helping him sit up. This time a field doesn't appear.
"My only guess is that he was very lucky. I mean it was St. Patrick's day. All the green he was wearing, minimal as it was, sure seemed to protect him. You could say he had the luck of the Irish on his side." Bentley says trying to lighten the mood. Sly sighs knowing this and smiles a little. Carmelita is back to stroking Albotross behind the ear to try and put him to sleep like she usually does. She's wearing a rubber glove this time.
"I guess, but will he be normal again, or will he be stuck as an electrical hazard waiting to happen?" Sly asks fearing the answer and feeling that if Albotross can't live a normal life now it will be because of him.
"I can't be sure. But I can get him up and moving on his own again, I'll make him a pace maker to a low his heart rate. Hopefully that will help him control his new found abilities." Bentley says trying to sooth Sly. Then monitors inside the room start going off again. Bentley and Sly rush in.
"What happened?" Bentley asks.
"I don't know! All I did was try to put him to sleep and the next thing I know his heart rates plummeted!" Carmelita exclaims as she tries giving him CPR to raise the slowing beat. Bentley grimaced and pulls a syringe from a nearby table.
"Stand back!" Bentley yells as he slams the Syringe into his heart. Instantly Albotross is awake and gasping.
"I was afraid of this." Bentley mumbles to himself. Once he has the entire room reset, leaving Kittrina with Albotross he pulls Sly and Carmelita aside.
"What happened?" Carmelita asks.
"Same thing that happened last night. I'm afraid his body now has some type of pseudo insomnia." Bentley says rubbing the center of his head with his thumb and index finger.
"There is medicine for that right?" She asks.
"Not like this. You see the normal human body when it sleeps the body tends to slow things down. The heart rate and what not so that the body can stay under long enough to rebuild the lost energy of the day. Now what with insomnia patients are usually just having trouble with brain functions, the wake signals being more active keeping the patient from sleeping. Albotross isn't like other patient's in this case anymore. He has no problem with it. No what's keeping him awake is his heart. His beat is now so fast that his body is creating new energy for him. I'm guessing that's what the electrical surges and static on him are. The energy looking for an escape. Problem is that with the way he's creating it, if he even tries to sleep, he could flat line." Bentley explains. He lets that last part sink in for a minute so they can fully comprehend the situation.
"You mean we can't put our son to sleep because he could die!? Are you fucking kidding me!?" Carmelita raves.
"I'm sorry but there is no way to sugar coat it. If Albotross sleeps as he is now, he could die in his sleep. But like I told Sly I can make a pacemaker to slow his heart rate so he can move around normally. Who says I couldn't try to retro work it to help him stay alive when he chooses to sleep." Bentley says. Sly takes a few deep breaths. He doesn't like what Bentley is saying either, but he knows he's telling nothing but the truth.
"How soon can you make it?" Sly asks.
"Something a little more complicated then a regular pace maker. I'll need about a week. But then comes testing, and that could take about three. One for him to recover from surgery, and another two to make sure he's back to peak form." Bentley says.
"So basically he'll be a hospital pup for a month? Do you know how hard it is for him and Kittrina to just sit still. I don't know if it's wise to just leave him here." Carmelita says.
"Well the only other option is for him to admitted to a real hospital so they can hook him up to thousands of machines. Possibly killing him or doing permanent damage trying to figure out what I just told you." Bentley explains. Sly holds Carmelita who is glaring at Bentley with tears streaming down her face.
"Bentley please, just help him. I don't care how. I just want my son back home as soon as possible. If you need more time let us know ok." Sly says petting Carmelitas head to try and calm her.
"Also if one of you can stay here with him. It might help the recovery process and I'm not really equipped for child care here." Bentley says. This perks both of their ears up.
"Can you stay with him love. I would but I've been on a case for a few days and the leads will get cold if I take any more time off." Carmelita says. Sly kisses her forehead.
"Of course love. I'll keep you girls posted, now go home and get some rest. If anything changes with Albotross I'll let you both know right away." Sly says, Carmelita smiles at Sly before getting on her tiptoes to kiss him. Sly kisses back gently then lets Carmelita go.
"Alright, call me as soon as he can move again." Carmelita says before opening the door. Kittrina has managed to crawl into bed with Albotross and is snuggled up to him asleep as he pets her. He looks up when the door is opened and smiles weakly. Carmelita quietly walks over to the bed careful not to wake up Kittrina. She gently touches Kittrina's shoulder.
"Baby girl. Come on sweetie it's time to go." Carmelita says. Kittrina mumbles in her sleep and slowly wakes up. As soon as she wakes up her fur and hair all stands on end in seconds. Sly and Bentley turn around and walk out too laugh. Carmelita smiles and holds back from laughing.
"Come on baby, you and me have to go home. You can see your brother again in a couple of days." Carmelita says, finding it difficult to keep the laugh out of her voice. Kittrina yawns name gets up. As they're walking out the door.
"Bye mama, bye fuzzy." Albotross calls out, Kittrina looks confused. Sly walks in as they leave.
"Hey buddy me and Uncle Bentley are gonna be down the hall. Call us if you need anything." Sly says as Carmelita and Kittrina turn a corner down the corridor. Seconds later all three hear Kittrina's scream of rage and shock.
"And hopefully she doesn't try getting you when you can go home." Sly chuckles. Albotross smiles again. Sly pets him a little, feeling the static hitting the rubber in his gloves. Actually hitting it like it's trying to shock him playfully. He ruffles his fur hair and walks out the room.
Alright folks, hope you enjoyed, it may be difficult to understand at times. I appologize in advance after that. I would have continued on to the recovery state but that's for another holiday. If you would like me to go into that than leave a review or PM me. Till then my friends and fiends of the light and Dark.
Remember to keep the balance!