~Location: Blimp Crash Site - Egypt~

~Date/Time: 1300 B.C. Time of Day: Unknown~

Sly stirred as the sunlight beamed directly at him. He woke slowly, opening his eyes to see the Cooper Cane resting by his side. He picked it up and staggered to his feet, dazed. When he completely came to, he was immediately aware that something was different. The pieces of Le Paradox's blimp lay scattered before him, some of them half-buried in sand.

"Sand?" Sly thought this as odd. Where was he?

The answer to the question came to him as easily as looking a bit further. In the distance, Sly saw a large statue of a jackal's head. Below that, Sly could make out a temple. There was a staircase leading up to its entrance.

Behind that, Sly saw a few other structures. They were even larger than the temple. Sly noticed that the buildings were pointed. The walls of the building angled upwards to a single point at the top. Bentley mentioned these to be 'pyramids', a common aspect of architecture in Ancient Egypt.

Egypt... That's where he is... Ancient Egypt, to be exact.

How did he know this for sure? Bentley told him. Well, not right now, but when he first learned about them, Sly was curious as to why present-day pyramids looked very sloppy. There soon followed a lecture with plenty of words that Sly either forgot or never heard. The basic story that he knew was that the pyramids from the present are older than when they were first built in Ancient Egypt. Sly made an analogy with the rusty penny that you occasionally find on the street and was told that the basic principle was the same, just on a much larger scale. Sly was certain that he was in Ancient Egypt because the pyramids in the distance looked almost brand new.

Sly had been practically admiring the scenery when he finally heard his own heavy breathing. He realized that he was not only panting, but sweating. The raccoon felt exhausted. His duel with Le Paradox felt like it happened less than hour ago. It wasn't helping much that he woke up from a nap in the hot sun. As he stood there, looking over the wreckage of the blimp, a gust of wind had stirred from behind him, covering most of the metal parts (as well as Sly) in a thin layer of warm sand.

"Ugh... I hate sand now..." Sly groaned. "I didn't play outside in the sandbox at the orphanage... I think I know why now..." Sly tried to shake off some of the sand. This proved to be unsuccessful as it seeped into his clothes. He hurriedly took off his sweater and shirt, tossing them aside. Removing layers of clothing and sand gave Sly a bit of relief. That relief was instantly vanquished when he realized that he was even more exposed to the hot sun. Another sandy gust was adding insult to injury.

"AH! I REALLY HATE SAND!"

"There! This way!"

Sly flinched as he heard voices in the distance. Looking towards them, he saw several figures emerging from the temple's opening. His ears flattened as soon as he could make out that they were carrying spears.

"Something tells me that they aren't the welcoming committee..." He expected to hear Bentley right behind him, appearing just in time to rescue him. There was no such luck. Sly turned to run, but could only see empty sandy dunes ahead. Besides, Sly was in no shape to run and he could never last long out in the desert.

His only option was to be captured. To be taken inside. Maybe he could find food or water there. Maybe he could find a place to rest until he is rescued? Thinking quickly, Sly looked around for something to cover himself. He picked up some of the fabric that the blimp was made of and shook most of the sand off of it before making a shawl. He held his cane at his side, the exhaustion making him lean slightly for support.

When they finally approached them, Sly was glad that he didn't try to fight head on. Aside from the fact that they carried spears, they were wearing golden chest armor and each of them carried a sword at their waist. There was also more than Sly can handle in a direct face-off. These guards were more muscular than the average patrol guard that Sly had been used to.

When they finally saw Sly, they slowed to a fast walk. Sly had hoped that they didn't see him as a threat.

"Shepherd? Are you alone?" One of them says this as the others walk around him, looking around with their spears in hand. Sly took notice that the first guard was missing a portion of his ear.

Sly nodded. "I'm alone. I've lost my way and can't go back."

The first guard questioned Sly's statement. "You are lost? Which way did you come from?"

Sly played along with his act, pointing in some random direction. "From there. I have no supplies to return home. Might I acquire some?"

The remaining guards mumbled amongst each other before the leader turns to Sly. "Follow us. We will give you what you need."

Sly bowed in respect and followed the group back to the temple. Sly was momentarily distracted by the sights and sounds of the ancient city in its prime. Before they got too far inside the city limits, the leader walks alongside another guard and whispers something inaudible. The second guard looks back to Sly, smirking and nodding before splitting off and taking a side street.

Sly took note of this and also noticed that he was lead through a scenic route through town. The poor lived on the outskirts, and the wealthy lived near the center. Sly was being lead through the poor district towards the center of town. Looking ahead, he saw the same guard as before, running ahead of them. He was suddenly pulled from the side into an alleyway.

The lead guard saw this happen, barking an order at the remaining two to hold Sly and quickly follow before he ran off. Sly was grabbed by the arm and rushed over to where the first guard had spotted a trail. Someone had dragged someone into the alleyway. The first guard led the hunt, while the other two dragged Sly with them. Sly felt relieved as the alleyway was shaded and out of sunlight.

The alley soon diverted into a four-way path. The guards left Sly in the center as they split up and searched. Watching all three of them from his vantage point, Sly jumped as one appeared as if he was tackled by a shadow. The attacked guard was able to cry out briefly, alerting the other two. The remaining guards returned to where Sly was, the first one growled and questioned Sly directly. The other one shook his head, taking the first guard away from Sly. The first guard growled as he noticed a shadow in the distance. Turning to his comrade, he gave a short command, ordering the second guard to check it out.

The guard was promptly removed from sight, convincing the leader that something was not right. The remaining guard turned and ran for his escape. Sly was about to chase and attack him, but a shadow appeared in front of him and held him still.

"Let him go. Someone needs to tell the story."

"Who are you?"

"It's none of your concern, shepherd. Go home."

"It is my concern and I can't go home. I'm nowhere near home!"

"Sorry to hear that, but if you're seen, they'll kill you on sight."

"Kill me?"

"Or... At least let the Pharaoh decide what to do with you."

"Why would they kill me? I'm just a shepherd."

"I doubt that... No shepherd owns enough gold to make a crook out of it. Who are you?"

"I... Wait a minute... Slytunkhamen?"

The shadow froze, slowly walking into the light so that the sun can reflect off of his jeweled clothing. The shadow wielded two small canes that were like Sly's. Sly even saw a ringed tail behind him as the shadow fully came into view.

"Actually, my name is Slytunkhamen Cooper II. Now, I'll ask again. Who are you?"

"It's a long story..."

"It looks like we have plenty of time. Better get to telling."

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