Together Forever

Summary: An alternate ending to the Sly 2 game and the entire Sly series. This storyis my take on the end of the Clockwerk/Cooper war, Carmelita and Sly's relationship, and the permanent disbanding of the Cooper gang. As with any grand finale, this story has a multitude of characters from all 3 games(not all though). Please review your thoughts on this story and on suggestions for a better title.

Part 1: The Only Way

Location: Arpeggio's Blimp, Somewhere Over Paris

Sly's POV

I just couldn't believe it. No, really, I just couldn't. As I listened to Arpeggio reveal the details of his grand master plan to resurrect Clockwerk, I was just shocked. All this time, all these years of preparing, practicing and stealing to finally destroy my hated enemy, it turns out…I was just helping him come back to life. Arpeggio's currently droning on and on about immortality and such, I can't take it any more, I need to think. So I do what every other Cooper would do if they needed to think of something really quick. I slowed down time.

According to Bentley, when I slow down time, everyone else is technically moving at normal speed, I'm just thinking faster. Or something like that. Either way, as time seemed to slow down around me, I thought about, well…everything. Not just all the heists that led up to this moment, but everything else that happened both before and in-between.

For a few brief seconds I was back in Inspector Fox's office, stealing my police file from her vault. Then I'm at the Panda King's lair. I can almost feel the chill that went down my spine as I saw one of his fireworks burry a village in an avalanche. Suddenly I'm in the hideout and celebrating with my pals over the restoration of the Thievius Raccoonus and the defeat of the Fiendish Five. A fraction of a second later I feel the shock of Rajan's electric bolts and see a blurry image of something large and pink fight Rajan.

After reviewing all the events, I decide to remember my pals and how I met those two guys in the first place.

Bentley, seems like only yesterday when I met him in the orphanage after I hid under a bed to avoid a gang of bullies that suspected me of stealing their stuff. Their suspicions were true though. Bentley was also hiding under the bed. He was tinkering with something, a gizmo or a gadget. He backed away from me a little and asked if I was a bully. I answered that I wasn't a bully, I was a thief. From that day on we were close friends. Despite his sometimes, annoying, nervous disposition. He was a great pal to be with and helped me out a lot. He may not look like much, but deep down he's a brave and determined thief. Jean-Bison and the Contessa must have been pretty steamed about being outsmarted by an asthmatic green turtle.

Murray, imagine my shock as I saw a big, pink hippo run down the corridor of the orphanage away from bullies half his size. Bentley and I just happened to be in the area, helping ourselves to some cookies that happened to be lying around the bullies' play area. When Murray came screaming down the hallways, we were obliged to assist his escape. When we went back to our "safe house" (a cardboard box in the orphanage attic)we introduced ourselves as the Cooper gang and asked if he wanted join our gang. He really wanted to join the gang, not just because it sounded fun, but he really also wanted friends. We asked what he could do and he said he could drive really well and told us the reason he had been chased by the bullies was because he had beat them in a bike race. We agreed to let him stay on as both reinforcements and getaway driver. I had no idea he'd go from timid goofball of our group to a violent brawler. I should've known by the way he protected us in the orphanage. He would punch anyone who ever even thought of harming me or Bentley. Though he's now a masked luchador with a habit of referring to himself in third person, he's still that pink goofball I saw running down the corridors of the orphanage.

But the most important person that came to my mind wasn't Bentley, Murray or even me. One of the last thoughts I would ever have would be of Carmelita. I don't know why I enjoy having her constantly chase me, every thieving instinct in my brain tells me I'm crazy. They also tell me that a relationship between a cop and a thief could never work. But that never stops me from trying. I still remember the look on her face when I gave her that kiss on the lips 2 years ago. Man was she mad when she realized I had handcuffed her to a rail. She's one of the things that makes every heist fun. Well…to me at least. Bentley and Murray don't like her as much. I can't imagine why. Another reason why I want to destroy Clockwerk is to ensure her safety. After he gets reborn, it's only a matter of time before he goes after me and everything I care for, including Carmelita. I know it sounds corny, but I can't live without her.

Now, I'm back in the present and sensing that Arpeggio is almost at the end of his monologue I check my surroundings for a way around this situation. All the security guards on this blimp have been knocked out, so it's just the three of us…four, if you count Clockwerk. The Clockwerk frame is open and there's some freaky portal in it's mouth. That's probably where Arpeggio is going to enter. Neyla…huh, Neyla. I really thought we had something back in Paris. For a moment, I even thought you would replace Carmelita Fox as my err…rival. Sorry to see your true colors. To think we could've been partners in crime…oh, well. Wait! Neyla was just standing still a minute ago, but now she looks like she's about to pounce on someone. But I'm way too far and Arpeggio…wait a second…that's been her plan the whole time! She's planning to betray the Klaww gang and merge with Clockwerk herself! I gotta get back to the safehouse and…what's the point? Neyla or Arpeggio will fuse with Clockwerk the second I escape.

I look down to look at my cane. It's been with the Cooper family for thousands of years, it's also the thing that started the war with Clockwerk. But maybe, just maybe it will be the thing to end it. A thousand voices in my head tell me that what I'm about to do is wrong. That there's another way to get out of this jam. But I know that in order to save my friends and the love of my life, this is my only choice. I get into position and time begins to go back to normal speed.

End POV

Among all his treasures, Sly's cane was his most precious possession, so Neyla was more than a little bit surprised when he threw it at her. The hook hit her hard in the left kneecap and she doubled over in pain. She managed to ignore her pain long enough so she could give Sly a hate-filled glare, only to see that Sly was running towards the Clockwerk frame. "That fool!" She thought. "He can't possibly dismantle Clockwerk in time!" But Sly always had a habit of doing something both unexpected and reckless. He jumped into Clockwerk's mouth and merged with the mechanical owl.

To be continued...