Sly Cooper and the Gang in:
Just my Luck!
By: Cutegirlmayra (I really wanted to do some sly cooper stories! SlyxCarmelita is like… kinda my thing now xD but I'm excited to write this! Hope you enjoy! And take it easy fellas, this is my first sly cooper oneshot!)
As Sly crept through the sewer's pipes till finally coming across the notorious rat's den, titled so from the dome like rat's nest design it happened to take, he spun his legendary cane and began to enact the next step of the plan…
"Being apart of an infamous thieving family has its perks, you get to go to some exotic places." Sly humored himself, as Bentley groaned on the other side of the mic, hearing his whispers.
"Do you always have to talk to yourself?" he sarcastically questioned back.
"Don't ruin my epic monologue, Bentley. Some people have powerpoints, others have their eating habits-"
In the background, Murray could be heard chowing down on some donuts, having already completed his step of getting Sly down and into the sewers for step 1 of the operation.
"And then some have an obsession with shiny things." Sly looked up, racing through the splashing water below him before seeing there wasn't much way to avoid being spotted.
Although, not entirely speaking of himself, who he was really referring to was the target.
"Cooper!" coming up from the wiry rat's den, a muskrat with bling all over him emerged with his posse. "So, you have come to steal my shhiiiinnnies~ Have you!? WELL. This shall not be so! Guards! Seize this mongrel!"
"Hey! I'm no mutt! Check out the tail!" Sly gestured to his raccoon tail by waving his thumb behind him, before the men started to swarm him. "Heh, I hope this plan works, Bentley. You almost in?"
Sly jumped, having two blockheads rush into one another, as he balanced on their heads using his expert bended-knee, tippy-toe action to whack away the others coming to him, then jumped again to crush his ankles into the sides of their heads, having them fall down as he landed between them.
"Anytime now, buddy."
"All…most… there…" Bentley was quickly at work hacking into the sewer system, before finally cracking the code and shouting out in- "Eureka! I'm in." he took a serious tone after exclaiming in joy, before quickly typing out the coordinates to where Sly was, and saw the action going down.
"Woah! Look at all those heat signatures."
Sly somersaulted and dodged a few men, before grabbing another one in a headlock and punching him out, using his body to fling himself back in a flip, and kick another guy out, before throwing the knocked-out body onto the horde of men coming at him, pushing them back. "Well, be thankful you only see that and not their faces." He ducked again, and spun his cane up to knock out another goon trying to seize him.
"Really, Bentley, it smells down here and I'd hate to keep Murray away from his afternoon snack."
On the line, Murray whined out and held his stomach, "Need… more… food.." he moaned and fell over, reaching for the van's roof.
Bentley took a second to look back, before shaking his head and continuing to code. "Yeah, the big fella needs to start his diet soon." Another huge moan of agony came from the back, as Bentley turned his head back around, speaking over his shoulder, "Come on, Murray! Can't you wait just another- Oh! I've got it!"
"About time." Sly felt the ground below him start breaking off into arched circles, while he stood towards the middle one, as they started to spin in opposite directions, moving them around the center.
"I'd hold onto something, Sly!"
"Hang on! I haven't gotten the Amulet yet." Sly looked up, seeing the Muskrat having it on under all his priceless jewelry.
"W-wa-wait, what?! Sly! You've gotta be kidding me! I already activated the sewer's disposal sequence! At this rate, you only have 10 minutes left!"
"Oh, is that all?" Sly smirked, and tried to balance himself as it began to spin, jumping from one person to another, and getting slammed against them at times when the spinning ring was going the opposite way. "He-heh." He smiled at one guy he got a little too close too, before using the momentum of the spinning ring to duck as the grunt went flying over him, trying to grab him, and the force of which sent him flying to another struggling lackey next to them.
"Sllllyy!" Bentley cried out in worry, putting his hands up to his head. "He's not going to make it! He's never gonna make it!"
"Bentley, where's your faith? Don't you know every action hero needs a little suspense from the clock every now and then?" Sly was climbing up the different pipes and wires on the nest's outer layers, and finally made his way to the muskrat.
"Action heroes aren't always heroic thieves, Sly." Bentley folded his arms, shaking his head at Sly's cocky attitude.
Using his cane to hook the amulet from the surrounding bling and hoist it up and off of the Muskrat, Sly smirked in triumphant, "Got'cha!... huh?"
When he did so, the muskrat looked terrified and gasped, as suddenly he looked skinny without all the many pounds of gold and gems on his chest, and even was found to be wearing boxers with multicolored sparkles on them.
Very embarrassing.
He covered himself, as Sly took a moment to question the man's life, "I.. didn't need to see that." before throwing the jewels up, and catching the amulet, seeing Murray open the top of the sewer, and lower down a rope for him.
"Drive, man. Drive!" Murray called from the back of the van, having been positioned in that location for the very reason of escape.
Bentley turned his hat over behind him and began leading the team away, pulling the string along the backend of the car through Murray's secure hands as he skidded the turn and began to make their getaway a reality.
"Always knew you could do it, Sly! But please, let me worry sometimes."
Sly saluted the muskrat as he cried out in anger, and the whole 'rat's den' was swallowed up in the rings widening and letting the whole mess of them fall deeper into the sewers, the real… nasty part of it.
"Whoo! Got it!" Sly pulled out the Amulet, as Murray cheered and went to go and kiss it, before his eyes widened, remembering where it had been and quickly let it go, cringing away from it.
Sly laughed, and got up to wipe himself down, "Talk about a serious clog in the sewers, they're going to be plunging those guys out for a week." He teased, before putting his hook behind him and looking over his shoulder, something seeming…. Off.
"Was it just me? Or was all that too… easy?" Bentley, keeping his eyes on the road, slowed the van down when he realized nothing was really chasing them.
Murray slammed the backdoors shut, and turned around too, looking puzzled. "Now that I think about it,… my fist of justice never had any real… justice to smash!" he looked amazed by his discovery, tightening his hands into fists and looking dumbfounded.
"Sly..?" Bentley was getting suspicious, and spoke over his shoulder.
"Yeah, I feel it too, buddy." Sly casually put his two arms over his cane, which held there by his neck, as he kicked a skimmed foot along the van's floor, and paced, thinking before sitting down and moving his cane to settle on the left side of his leg.
"….Wait a minute.. justice? The police! Carmelita!" He got up suddenly, "Where was Carmelita? She never lets me get away with a heist!"
"Well, it wasn't really public." Bentley tried thinking smart. "But she has always been on our tail-ends,… tracking and tailing us down, so to speak. Hmm… he was a dirty crook though, maybe she let this one slide..?"
"Heh, are we still talking about the same black and white Carmelita?" Sly moved to the other side of the van, putting a leg up on the other side's seat, and smiling back to Bentley, who nodded with a chuckle, his shoulders bouncing at how right Sly was.
"You're right. No matter the severity of the situation or even the simplest crimes, she'll always be there to try and thwart injustice. So then…"
Bentley parked his car.
He turned around in his wheelchair compatible seat, holding the side of the chair to do so.
"Where is she?"
Driving close to her street, but trying to stay discreet about it, Sly explained Carmelita's work schedules and how there should be some roses at her door with his trademark as a note beside it.
Without questioning how Sly knew her work schedule, Bentley took on another form of thinking. "Still trying to woo her back, huh?"
Sly smirked, lightly hitting Bentley with a relaxed hand that was dangling from having his two arms resting on the two chairs up front, the middle one being pulled down so that Murray could make his way into the passenger's seat, eating his afternoon snack as promised.
"I won't give up, you know that Bentley." He then looked out the car window, a more seldom look upon his face. "We'll work out… eventually."
"From a hazardous beginning, to a more rivaled spirits,… do you really think she'll abandoned all her beliefs… for you?" Bentley glanced up at him, being sincere and not trying to hurt anyone. He of all people knew what it was like… to deny one's heart for one's own standing on what was right.
"She accepted me when she thought I was retired." Sly shrugged. "She can do it again."
"Ehem, retired or recooperating?" Bentley punned a jab at him, before laughing off his tease, and continuing further, turning the wheel to park a corner down from her street. "All I'm saying is that you lied to her, and she… probably lied to herself." He turned to face him again. "I'm just concerned and worried about you, Sly. You two make a mighty fine odd pair. I just don't want either of your hearts broken by your choices in life. You have your calling, Sly… and so does she."
"Man, getting deep on me, Bentley? That's a change." Sly began to move further up, seeing a figure making their way, drunk as it seemed, around the corner, staggering and holding their arm as they moved.
"You faked your memory loss, Sly. She faked not knowing. But I don't fake my anxiety. She could be luring you back with this to try and arrest us all! It could be… a love trap." He said those last words in a very dramatic way, narrowing his eyes before Murray leaned closer to the windshield as well… him and Sly focusing heavily on the man walking towards the corner.
"Is he… alright, Sly?" Murray questioned, as the man hit the side of someone's building's wall, before pushing off of it and moving quickly into the road.
"I don't know, buddy. But he doesn't look too good." Sly kept watching, suspicious of this figure…
"…Hmm…" Bentley, suspicious now too, turned on the headlights with a twist of his fingers.
Immediately, the gang's eyes widened.
"Carmelita!"
When the headlights came on, Carmelita's weakened state came into view, her legs shook a moment, before she finally stated,
"R…Run."
And collapsed.
"Ughh.."
"CARMELITA!"
She must have recognized the van.
"Quick! Grab her! And Murray, you take the wheel!" Bentley unbuckled as he spread his arms out, opening the van's door remotely. He was lowered down by his wheelchair and through its mechanical arms and hovering abilities, putting himself down on the street, before he wheeled himself out to where Sly had already reached Carmelita, holding up her upper torso and head, seeing her breathing hard.
"What's it look like, Sly?!"
"There's no injuries. Just some blow-dart on her back, near her left shoulder." Sly held it up.
The insignia had Bentley squint his eyes, before his whole face lowered into a gaping sense of horror at his realization.
"Murray!" he spun around, "Hightail us out of here!".
Sly had carried Carmelita to the back of the van, Bentley hovering after them, as Murray stepped on it, and got them as far away as they could from her street.
"Carmelita, hang on!" Bentley cried out, flopping down from his hover and getting his computer out to test the substance in the blow-dart, and seeing the fluffy dice stringed together on the insignia, and having it hold his stare for a moment.
The computer binged, and he quickly began typing and looking all over his screen as many small windows started popping up.
"Bentley, you know something." Sly narrowed his eyes, "Tell me. Who did this to her? What did they do to her?!" he held his arms out to gesture, shaking his head in his confusion, but was still trying to keep a loose hold on her.
"Calm down, Sly. I'm making a plan." Bentley couldn't explain everything right now, but he knew Sly wouldn't be satisfied with that response.
"This isn't time for a powerpoint presentation, Bentley!" Sly went to slam the computer screen down, but a mechanical hand swiped out like a snake and stopped him, gripping his arm back, as Sly looked shocked from the reflex.
Bentley then turned his head, glaring…
"You said you wanted a time-bomb? Well, you got one, hero!" he turned the computer and held it up to Sly's face.
"First things first. Carmelita's been poisoned by top-notch, black-market venom. In order to save her, we have to act fast! Every word I speak is another second of her life gone down the drain! Excuse the reuse of later puns." He continued by clicking the screen to show his hasty plan he put together. "We need herbs, and lots of them! 9 to be exact! 3 to 3 ingredients that are necessary to save her life. I've already punched in their locations. Echo-Sonic factories is a herbal plant that will hold Mercy Seeds, I then need a non-toxic herb only found in products at specialized hospitals, conveniently located across the street. But this next ones a bit farther… because this is black-market stuff, we need more black-market products! You'll have to swindle a deal with the snake-merchant. He works for the bat that smuggles from Echo-Sonic. If you're lucky, he may be making a deal when you get there. If not, smuggle a bat's clothes and hustle us some Anti-Toxic serum. It can only be made through their… unique marketing ways… Got it, Sly?"
"How long do I have?" Sly looked worriedly back to Carmelita, seeing her breathing soften slightly.
"..I'd rather not say. But I'll let you know by the panic in my voice." He handed him his binoculars. "I'll talk you through it, but we need to act fast. Like, right now, Sly!"
Sly nodded, and kicked the van's backdoors open, seeing how fast Murray was driving and jumped out, rolling until he hooked his cane on another car, and jumped from its roof to the actual rooftops of Paris.
-Time Skip-
"Alright, Bentley, I've got 2 of the 3 things we need. 3 each, right? All I need is the serum. I got the bat's attire,… now what?"
"Play it cool, Sly. We need you to impersonate someone who knows his way around the place!"
"Right, so no pirate voice?"
"Sly!"
"I'm sorry, Bentley! When I get nervous I spit out a joke! How's Carmelita?"
Bentley looked down.
Murray stopped the car and was in the back with him now.
He looked up at Bentley, not sure what he would say.
Carmelita's condition was getting worse, and her breathing was heavy, it was a miracle Sly couldn't hear it on the mic. Murray held her hand as her face was full of sweat, fighting for breath now…
"… The clock's ticking, Sly. We're getting into the crunch time."
"Say no more. I'm on it."
The mic cut off, as Bentley looked back to Carmelita's face.
"..We should get her something comfortable to lay her head on." He looked around the van, before hearing a large- THUMP! And widening his eyes at the irregular sound. He then saw Murray's large stomach, spread across the floor as he posed, bouncing his eyebrows up and down as his arm held his head up and the other was placed on his hip.
"…No, Murray." Bentley looked unamused. "I said 'comfortable'. Not squishy." He took his two fingers and pressed the bridge of his nose, looking up and sighing. "Oh boy."
"Ssspit of sssafety, issss it?" The snake vendor stated, as Sly looked down from his large coat, his face hidden, as he saw the pink liquid in the bottle.
Bentley's voice came back on the mic, having momentarily turned off communication for a second. "I think I know this jargon, he's talking about the serum, Sly!"
"That's the one." Sly spoke in an odd voice, as the Snake raised an eyebrow, but continued.
"Sssay, you got a cold there, sssssunny? To make sssssure you're from Echo-Ssssonic, I'll need to test your knowledge of our merchantizzze."
'That was a 'z', not an 's'." Sly seemed confused on that.
"Uh oh! It's another test, Sly! You'll need to correctly identify each product to its specific codename! Lucky for us, black market thugs usually keep them easy to recognize what you're talking about! They're not too terribly creative… Focus on the color and actual name labels on the products! Just be smart about it. And hurry, Sly… hurrrrrry!"
Sly played along as he guessed and played the game of identifying the product based on its codename. 'Good thing the codenames go with colors or describe their use. I can just read the label and determine if that's what the codename means.'.
"Very good. How about- Sssslimey Sssscales?"
'…Hmm… Knock-out gas, stun-bullets,… ah-ha! It must be the eye-contacts that help you see in the dark!'
"What do you take me for!? It's the night-vision contact lenses. For your eyes!"
"Ssssplendid, friend. I guessss you really do have a cold. My apologiesss. Now then, your regular sssshipping load…" he lifted up a cart with his tail, and thunked it down on the vendor table, as Sly noticed there was 3 bottles of pink liquid inside.
'Perfect.'
He quickly took the small box, winking to the snake, "Let it not happen again, old pal." and dashed off, hearing the snake holler for his trade money, but Sly was already tossing off the disguise and racing to where Bentley said they were.
"Come on, Sly! Hurry, hurry, hurr-!" Bentley gestured his arms to hurry into the van, as Murray grabbed his arm and helped him thrust his way inside, as Bentley took the box of ingredients and his metal, long arms went to work crushing it all up in a bowl. "Murray! The hot water." He held out the bowl as Murray poured, and Sly lifted up his hat, looking down and kneeling beside Carmelita.
"She looks…." His voice went silent.
"Awful, I know." Bentley quickly gestured for Sly to lift her head up, "Tilt the neck slightly, we want all this to go down smoothly."
He then began to pour the black slush of stuff into her mouth, as she fidgeted a little, and Bentley tapped the bowl on its side to get the last drop off.
"Hold her mouth close, this aftertaste is a doozy…"
Immediately after saying that, she started coughing, as Murray and Sly held their hands over her muzzle, keeping it held tight so the medicine could go down.
When she at last swallowed, they let go and everyone sighed in relief, leaning back.
"There… that should do it." Bentley whipped his hands, and then pulled out his laptop once more. "According to my research, these 3 herbs act as chemical incubators. They literally generate life-saving energy in a matter of a few minutes when in hot contact with each other. That's why the hot water was necessary. Shouldn't burn her tongue or anything though. As we speak, the chemicals are mixing and blasting into a high-radiated amount of energy, this energy is super-absorbed by her body's natural healing properties, and wah-la!" Bentley spread his arms out, as Carmelita immediately began to breathe a little easier, her body going limb as if there was less of a fight now than before. In this case, a good sign she was beginning to relax and not feel in pain anymore.
"She'll be alright in a couple of minutes." Bentley nodded, and then scooted his chair back to the front of the van, having his metal arms pull him into position as the chair morphed mechanically to fit the wheelchair.
"I've got this one, Murray. You can eat the rest of your After- Heh, well I guess it's dinner time now, huh?" Sly smiled kindly to his friend, before lifting Carmelita to his chest, and holding her there a moment.
"Well… if you say so, Sly." Murray got up, and headed back to the passenger's seat, taking a moment to look at the lovely two, before getting into his spot, lifting his large body to sit properly in place.
"Will she really be okay, Bentley?"
"As good as ever. She'll be firing her stun-gun bullets at us in no time."
"That's… good?" Murray nodded, before questioning it for a moment, and then laughing again. "I guess I am okay with that. As long as she gets up alright."
After a few moments, Carmelita felt herself moving and rocking with what felt like motion, as if she was in a car, and blinked her eyes up and open, seeing something grey and blue merge into a face.
"C..Cooper?"
"You have no idea how good it is to hear you sounding my name again in that groggy voice, Carmelita." Sly smiled, winking in his flirtatious way.
"H..How… how did you..?"
"Find you? Simple. That last heist was boring! No one chasing me? I knew something was up. I'm just glad you didn't have a boyfriend or anything." He teased, still trying to make the mood light, before looking up to Bentley at the wheel. "Bentley's the one that saved you though. His know-how got you the antidote you needed to stay alive and with us." He nodded his thanks to his friend, as Bentley looked through the car's mirror, and smiled back to him, and then continuing driving.
"Wait… what heist?"
"Haha! Good old, Carmelita. Is that all you honed in on?"
"Cooper… g-get your hands… off of me.. offph!" She tried to move push his arm off of her, but the van hit a bump and she slid down.
Going off reflex, she held onto him again, as he moved his arms away from her, and looked innocent. But after clinging to him like that, he laughed and helped her back up against his chest, getting some wicked pleasure out of her weakened state and needing him like she did.
"I can't help but think you're contradicting yourself with your words and actions again, love." He played, but she just shot him a glare, growling.
"Don't call me love, Cooper! I was on to you. I…erk… k-knew you'd be going for Muskrat Shine's Gold lair, but… ugh… That darn Rhino…" she felt her strength leave her every time she moved to shout in his face, but in the end, couldn't muster enough gusto to really look intimidating.
"Trust me. The gold you're thinking of is not what I saw in that sewer." Sly shook his head, before remembering something she said, and getting stuck on it. "Wait… Rhino? What Rhino?" he looked back down at her, holding her gently but keeping her upright as she leaned her head back at the crook of his neck and shoulder, seeming to close her eyes a moment.
She looked sleepy, and it only made her seem cuter to Sly.
"Take it easy. You need your strength…" Sly let it go, seeing as she really didn't have the strength at the moment.
Gently trying to show it her was okay to trust him and go back to sleep, he realized his efforts weren't helping as she tried to move herself to stay away.
"Ugh…"
She twisted her body a bit, and he could feel her tail swish over on top of his, making him look down and smile a moment, seeing as it rippled down and then flicked off from his tail.
Not meaning too, obviously, but it made him remember the old times, when cuddling over a good detective film noir, back when their relationship was more… stable. For lack of a better term.
"Rhino? So my deductions were right." Bentley looked down a moment, before back to the road. "Everyone, it's time for a powerpoint!" Bentley's mechanical arms lifted up and pulled down a screen in between where the front becomes the back.
"Rhino Casino. A pretty popular gambler in most respected cheaters clans, famed with his loaded dice and impeccable luck, many followed him just for the perks of always winning alone. Until that is… his luck went dry. The police arrested him after his luck ran out with a sour debt that was paid in ratting him out! Rhino Casino swore vengeance on the government, and on those who spoiled his winning streak."
"..He.. infiltrated the police force… I started noticing my crew being replaced and disappearing… then this Rhino comes rampaging in randomly… and is suddenly dubbed the chief officer over the force! I couldn't shake the feeling… I had to investigate. That's when I was caught by Rhino's men,… ugh… but I was about to get away..! When one just happened… to hit me in a spot I couldn't reach… poison?"
She looked up to Bentley, asking, so it seemed, if that was the case.
He nodded.
"Great." She lowered her head back to Sly, and then closed her eyes. "Thank you, Bentley. I would handle this affair myself,… but business might have to wait." She closed her eyes again, trying to regain her strength as fast as possible.
"Or… you could let us save your station?" Sly smiled sheepishly, as she glared up at him.
"I'd never heard of crooks saving the government." She snarled out, "But I suppose I have no other choice. He's using the police's authority to get…erk…" she gripped her stomach, as Sly motioned down with her hand as well, worried about her. "Uhh…tax money. Smuggling illegal money through to his own private facilities. The works. Even breaking out his own loyal goons. Taking out his past enemies… I'm sure he's using his command for more than that though! Ahh!"
"Carmelita, you have to stop moving." Sly tried to lock her in place, but she just twitched an eyebrow and looked at him with a threatening look.
He was too close…
He again chuckled a nervous laugh, putting on a smile, as he loosened his grip.
"You should be sorry."
"Can't say I feel so." He winked, once again flirting.
"Aye, aye, aye… do you ever take anything seriously?"
"I take you in my arms pretty seriously. I would say that makes us even more serious, wouldn't you agree?" he leaned down, taking some confidence as she looked away, 'ugh'ing at his attempts but clearly not able to fight him off either.
"If you have any respect for me, you'd let me help myself."
"But that would only take the fun away from seeing your adorable frown. And knowing that you'd have someone to thank again makes this all pretty worthwhile too."
"Grrr… If I could reach my gun, it'd cock it while aimed through your smart-mouth!"
"I know something else you could-"
"Sly!"
"I was gonna refer to her lips on mine!"
"C-Cooper!"
"Even so! You're usually more tactful about your smooth remarks, Sly!"
"It's not my fault you all had a dirty mind! Bentley! We've already escaped the sewers, don't throw us back down there again!"
"Golly!" Murray blushed, before the van came to a screeching halt.
"We're here…"
Bentley looked up.
They were hiding behind a corner, but the police station was right in front of them…
-Time skip!-
After stealing his badge with his personal crime records to prove him a fake and arrest him for impersonating a police man, they also needed to steal his lucky dice, his signature icon, which would have his men lose their confidence in their 'chief' as they exposed him for being a dirty cheat! Which, the men he had rustled up actually supposed his luck was perfect, and that nothing could stop them from getting their way in gold.
At this point, Carmelita was finally able to get up and walk a little, moving to the passenger's seat, she heard and talked through the mic too. Directing Sly through the ventilation system, and often times arguing with Bentley over who knew the layout of the police station better.
"I know Interpol's layout better than anyone! Like the back of my hand!"
"I don't mean to argue with your memory, Carmelita! But this chart is a thorough diagram of each nook and cranny in the building!"
"Do you mean to tell me you don't trust my word, Bentley!?"
"Look. Do you want your friends untied and back at your side with holsters readied, or what?"
"Hmph. Just get them out, Cooper… and knock that Rhino a good one!"
"I've got'cha, Carmelita. Bentley, try working together better, alright?"
"This is why I like a group of three. No exceptions." Bentley held a straight face before lowering his eyes as Carmelita made a face at him, folding her arms before glaring and growling at him.
"Are you suggesting I would EVER consider partnering up with thieves?!"
"Who knows, Carmelita. We're fighting FOR the police this time around, what makes the opposite so hard to see? We're not the black in your 'yinyang' beliefs. You may not believe in a grey area, but I would say we're no 'common crooks' either, in your book." He stopped then talking about philosophies and continued with the heist, as Carmelita looked away, angry, but thinking about what he was saying.
Staring down at the seat, she wondered why her heart didn't seem them as no good crooks… but they were actually… criminals that may have some redeeming qualities to them.
She would settle on that, for now, anyway.
However, after Sly's success with Murray to get Rhino Cashino's delusional lackeys to leave his loyal side, exposing him for the phony he really was, even to the public eye as well, Rhino retaliated and swore himself not guilty… that is, of murder! If, of course, they didn't cough over enough money to save Carmelita!
Having discovered the van while Sly and Murray were cleaning out the corrupted police force, and freeing the hostages who were the real authorities, Rhino Casino had knocked out Bentley and rode off in the van, much to the dismay of the gang.
"My baby!" Murray cried out, racing after its tracks, as Sly helped Bentley up to his feet.
"Where's he taking her?"
"T-…The bridge. He'll do it, Sly! He'll ride her off the bridge!"
In the van, Carmelita tried to untie herself, seeing him threatening to put his 'lucky brick' on the gas pedal and jumping out to have her crash into the water.
"Ugh! You'll never get away with this!" feeling stronger, she hit her legs up at his head, being long enough to do so, as he swat her away and tried to move her legs.
"H-hey! I can't see! Quit that, ya lousy-! Huh?"
A police helicopter swooped down to where they were driving, and Sly's silhouette faded into light as he raised his hat up, his mask's long fabric flapping a in waves behind him.
"Sly!" Carmelita cried out, looking thrilled to see him.
He grinned, loving hearing his name, and feeling like a true hero, even working with the police this time!
That's gotta count towards being a legitimate hero, right?
He nodded a signal and Murray nodded back, jumping from the helicopter and landing with a dent in his own van.
"I'm sorry! So sorry, baby!" he apologized to his beloved vehicle as he ran along the roof to the windshield, "Very sorry!" he busted the windshield and grabbed Rhino Casino, as Sly swooped down to fight him with his friend.
"You've forced my mighty fists of justice upon my own VECHILE. But not just any vehicle, oh no! My ONLY vehicle that every will matter to me! For this, I shall not delay, in bringing forth, sweet destruction's DELIVERAAAANCE!" Murray had held Rhino Cashion right smack-dab in front of him on the hood of the car, with his hands tightly on both sides of his arms, he then swung his head back and cried out his fury, before throwing him on the back end of the car, and trying to slam down a wrestler's arm into his side. The jump missed, however, but the two continued to fight.
Bentley tried to tap into the 'auto-pilot' he had installed in the frameworks of the van's technology, as the radio sparked to life with a pleasant song that didn't match the situation at all.
"Dang it! Come on! Ah-ha!" Bentley got the backend of the van to open up, as Carmelita leaned up to look out of it.
"Carmelita! Don't move!" Bentley called from the helicopter, but then gasped when he saw Murray rammed off the van. "Murray!"
"Raahhh-oofph!" Murray held one hand to the van, and threw himself in where Carmelita was, "Hang on, I've got-AH!" he was grabbed by the scruff of his shirt's neckline and pulled back up to the top of the van, being lifted over Rhino Casino's head.
"This is far enough!" Rhino shouted out, "Lady Luck may have dumped me years ago, but I finally had enough cred to get back up off the streets! Make something of my luck! Well… this is where your luck ends this time, Cooper! This..! Is where my vengeance truly is completed! You humiliated me. You humiliate all the ruffians out there that work against the law! A policeman's PET. Pathetic!"
"S-Slllly!" Murray called from flailing around above Rhino's head.
"This is where you fold! Die, Cooper!" Rhino flung his own friend at him, as Sly's eyes widened.
He ducked and held out his cane, as Murray hooked on, running along the van to get a good swift kick at the Rhino king, swinging around in a circle, and at one point, being swung along the outskirt of the van's roof!
"Face the fury of my dynamite kick, you rebel of justice!"
"Ahhh!" Holding his face where he was kicked, Rhino stumbled back, as a police car pulled up behind them.
"Now!" Sly called, as he hooked the Rhino's leg, so he couldn't move out of the way.
Murray landed and turned around, seeing his time had come to finish the Rhino off, once… and for all!
"Alllriiiight! Face the furry of my forever vengeful fists of total annihilation! Oblivion awaiiiiiitttsss!" getting a good footing on the racing van's roof, Murray punched his two fists into the other hands, and then charged with his hands out towards the Rhino. "Your personal apocalypse has come!" he rammed him off the van and into the police car, having it swivel under their combined weight.
"Cooper!" Carmelita looked behind her, seeing the windshield's wind shift as she felt the gravity turn and her body start to rise up. "Sllllllyyyy!" she cried out, as they both began to plunge down into the water.
The car had rode right off the bridge, but the police car behind them had spun out of control, sitting in the middle of the bridge.
"Sllly!" Bentley called down, looking out from the helicopter, and seeing the van go down into the mote below.
After having jumped off to dive down and save himself the full force of impact. Sly swam down and into the van, seeing Carmelita's unconscious body swaying in the van, probably knocked out by the impact.
He quickly hooked her with his cane and pulled her out, swimming up to shore with her in one arm, keeping her head above water.
Once safely up and dragged to shore, Sly immediately started to check for a heartbeat.
Hearing one, he let out a quick sparked laugh, and then kissed her to get her some air.
She coughed and he moved away, "Come on, Carmelita. You've already almost died today. You can't do the same thing twice on me! It's unoriginal!"
He had already untied her, and to get her to start moving again, he purposefully pulled her face against his in a more prominent kiss.
Her anger flared, water spraying out of her nose as she came too, and he could feel her body start to shift, before he felt the punch on his face, and smiled a goofy grin, like a school-boy, wiping his face.
"Pah! Pfft! C-Cooper… you rotten, two-faced, lying coon!" she pulled out her gun, and clicked the trigger.
It only puffed up smoke, as she hit it a few times, kicking her feet away from him as he shook his head, holding it in his pain, but looking so blissfully happy about it.
"Water might have come out of your lungs, but not out of your gun." He rhymed, before spreading his arms out wide and jumping back to her. "Oh, Carmelita! We're alive! Luck strikes us again-OFFPH!"
She kicked him in the face this time, but even that didn't stop him from moving her foot away and crawling more towards her. "It's not fun to survive a life-threatening experience unless you're feisty about it."
"C-Cooper… Sly! Sly, s-stop! What are you even-!?" she kept scooted away before he finally got the better of her and pulled her leg down, having the mud under her slide her into position under him, as he kissed her again.
This passionate kiss only lasted a moment though, and she seemed to not fight back as hard as before.
But as Sly moved his hands up from underneath her, seeing the police lights above him, probably from the road, he quickly gave her a wink and was about to skedaddle. "I hate to leave after the adrenaline of almost facing certain death with you, once more, I might add, But… I'll call you!" he jumped to his feet, but was hooked back down.
"Oh, but the adrenaline makes it all the more exciting, don't' you think? Well,..?"
Carmelita had gotten a hold of his hook, and grabbed his arm to chain one of his hands with handcuffs, and was going for the other, but couldn't lose her grip of his cane either…
"I don't think so, Cooper! You really think I'd let you get away with that kiss? It was a trap! Stupid!"
"…." Sly thought of Bentley's words before, and as the siren's got louder and closer, he looked back down at her. "..Carmelita… you're not still lying… are you?"
Those words broke her concentration, "W-what?"
"…I'll always be coming to steal your heart, Carmelita… but you've already arrested mine." He nervously looked up again, before hearing some crashing noises, and looking back down at her. "All I'm asking is that your heart's not a phony. Tell me or I will back down… I'll give up, Carmelita… I just want you to be happy."
Her eyes widened, and her firm grip on his cane started to wane.
Her eyes grew softer than, "Sly…" and apparently, so did her voice.
Suddenly, a smirk formed slowly on the side of his face, and he kicked her grip off the cane and swung it around, holding the cane over her neck so she couldn't get up again, as he used one hand and an arm to keep the cane and her other hand pinned, and used his free hand to get her arm. With the weight of his chest on the cane as well, she was perfectly stilled.
"You-! You lousy, thieving, crook!"
"I know, I love it too." He chuckled, looking up and seeing Murray, having smashed the police cars, cracking his knuckles.
Bentley also wheeled over, hovering moments before, and giving him the gesture to hurry up and escape with them.
"I hate to go, Carmelita… but I promise." He looked down to her, "My heart never lies…" he kissed her again, as she shook her head of it.
"Oh, but I totally lied about giving up. You know you're only happy when you're chasing me! And me running from you, Carmelita. Although, it's kinda a shame that I have too. Whelp! See ya!"
For his last goodbye trick/kiss, he made a huge, exaggerated kissing noise and then 'muah'd! as he let her go and raced up, Bentley already skating past them.
"Let's go!" he cried out, as Murray lowered his hands, putting them together so Sly could jump off of them, and walk across the bridge's ropes and finally get to the city again.
After a few hours, Carmelita stood with her arms folded on the opposite side of the bridge, watching them hoist up the Cooper Gang's van, as a deputy approached her.
Giving her a towel, she thanked her and continued to watch the crane hoist up the Cooper Gang's van.
"Fox. They'll be back for their getaway vehicle. I heard the suggestion to stash it for a trap was recommended by you, Ma'am. Any idea why you aren't pressing 'assault' as part of his charges, ma'am?"
Carmelita grew offended by that statement, and turned to the young woman, "Excuse me? I'll worry about my own safety. He saved my life… I'm only returning the debt." She looked forward, knowing the girl was new to the force, and kinda understood her unfamiliarity with how Sly and her worked…
Then again, no one else knew either. They just knew better than to question her.
She was the top officer in crime-fighting, and the only one able to get close enough to actually put handcuffs on Sly Cooper, anyway.
No one dared question how, just that she could.
Except for this nosy recruit…
"But Ma'am, there was a report of him kissing-"
"CPR." Carmelita kept her voice down low, and closed her eyes. "I think you're overstepping your boundaries, Deputy." She felt uncomfortable saying any defenses to this girl, but felt she reminded her a little of herself… when she was just overenthusiastic about her position starting out in Interpol as well.
"…Sorry, Ma'am… but how could a crook save a policewoman?" she seemed confused. "Isn't he the most prominent thief in Paris?"
"Not just Paris." Carmelita rolled her eyes, but continued.
"…I've had to learn a long time ago.." Carmelita stepped to the side, spreading her legs out, and holding her arms down to her side.
She looked down, and slightly smiled.
"Not everyone is full of just one side of the spectrum." She then looked up towards the car, seeing faintly the picture of her and Sly in it.
"…Some people are a lighter black than others."
"Ma'am, you're not sympathizing with a notorious thief, are you!? That sounded an awful lot like respect!" she moved her body more in front of Carmelita, as Carmelita's temper started to get frustrated by this new recruit.
She sighed to the side of herself, looking annoyed. "Of course not." She looked over the water, offended deeply by her statement, but trying to keep her cool.
Being professional.
"But he did save my life."
But still feeling… something on the matter being spoken of. Thinking of Bentley's words…
The deputy's eyes widened.
"Ma'am, I think it's best I take over the Cooper investigation. I think you've let your feelings take over your priority."
"…What?"
A few weeks later, that deputy was placed in a different squadron, and no matter how much she complained about Carmelita's leadership in the Cooper Investigation, the police chief knew better than to place anyone else in her experienced position.
A few days later, coming home from work, Carmelita reached for her keys only to discover that on the steps of her apartment complex…
Was another set of roses, and a call-card with Sly's signature upon it.
And handcuffs, that seemed to have been cracked by Sly's cunning off his wrist, with a pretty silver ring with an etched rose on it strung around one of them.
It twinkled in the moonlight.