Everything worked out well.
Bentley's plan worked almost to perfection. He had startled Barns with some nasty sounds thanks to his sonic disruptors, and the first thing Barns did was running to his panic room. Unfortunately for him he was also running into Murray's arms, who was waiting for him there and was able to knock the woodpecker out.

The rest was easy as pie. They brought the unconscious right hand of the Duke to the hideout where Scratch was waiting. The dog hadn't joined them because he had to, in Scratch's exact words, 'Prepare a room for their guest'.

What he had prepared was an almost empty room that had a chair the middle. Additionally, he had laid down a big plastic tarpaulin under the chair on the brown wooden floor, about which the team was unsure which use it had. Like the big plastic tub and the canister with acid in the corner of the room.

As Scratch saw the woodpecker, he started smiling maniacally and told Murray to put him in the chair. Then Scratch strapped him to it with a rope.
"Does one of you have some smelling salt?" Scratch asked as he was done tying up Barns. "He has to be awake for this."

Penelope pulled out a small flask from her pocket, she uncapped it and put it near Barns's nose, then he sniffed on it and awoke with a sneeze.
"Thank you." Scratch meant friendly.
"You're welcome... I guess..." Penelope said while she put the flask back into her pocket.

"Okay... everyone with a weak stomach better get out now. This could get really ugly!"
Sly immediately knew what Scratch was about to do, so he pushed Jing, Murray and Bentley out of the room, then Penelope shut the door and locked it.
And then silence, to the surprise of the both specters. No sound came from Scratch, he just stared at Barns for a while.

Then, all of a sudden, the dog clasped his hands together while the woodpecker was cowering in fear. Penelope and Sly could see clearly that he had wet his pants out of fear.
"Oh, already?" Said Scratch looking at the woodpecker's pants. "Usually the people do that while I am torturing them."

"What-what do you want from me?!" The woodpecker asked terrified.
"Oh... just some numbers. A code if you want to call it like that. For a safe."
"I can tell it to you, even help you!" Stammered Barns. "Just please don't kill me!"
"Okay... then spit the number for the safe out."

"O-of course! It's 29-76-84... um... 54-33-15... now please, let me go!"
"Enough, Scratch, untie him and let him go, I'm taking him with Carmelita." Sly said.
Scratch, without even listening to the raccoon, drew a knife and rammed it into Barns´s right shoulder. Penelope and Sly gasped in surprise and horror while the woodpecker howled in pain.
"That isn't an answer Mr. Barns" Scratch called through Barns screams

"Those were the numbers! Agh!" Barns said.
"You are trying to play with me, Mr. Barns. And you are a bad player." Scratch turned the blade in the wound. "These safes have codes with eight numbers. You better tell me the right number now before I think of a more creative way to ask my questions."

"13-77-33-66..." Barns said weakly.
"That's enough, Scratch!" Sly ordered again.
"Oh Sly..." Scratch sighed and reached into the bag that stood beside Barns´s chair. "You really believe him, right?" Smiling the dog pulled a wire cutter out of the backpack.
"I don't, but this is going too far!"

"I just began Sly... just began." Scratch put the wire cutter on the pinky of his victim's right hand and said. "Okay... Mr. Barns. I want to play I game now which I call 'Count to ten'."
Penelope was at this point on the verge of tears, so, Sly grabbed her and hugged her while the Dutch girl covered her ears.

"One." called Scratch and pressed the handles together.
Under unnaturally screams, a finger fell down to the floor. The blood spurted out of the finger´s stump and covered the white shirt that Scratch wore with his grey suit, with a big red stain.
"Okay Mr. Barns, I want the real code now." The dog said as he set the cutter on the ring finger.

"I gave it to you!" Barns claimed.
"Really? 13-77-33-66? That´s not a code you would use. Too many equal numbers... Two!" Again a finger fell down under loud screams and even more blood spurted.

"12-34-78-98!"
"I still don´t believe you! Three!"
At this point, there were almost no signs that Scratch´s shirt had been white once, as it was almost completely covered by Barn's blood.
"76-55-34-12-89!"

"Nope! Four!"
"Stop now, Scratch! There are other ways!" Sly snapped while Penelope tried not to run out of the room.
"The point of no return has been reached already! You see, he's lying again!" Scratch put the cutter on Barns' thumb and yelled. "Five!"

"This is madness, Scratch!" Sly yelled through Barns' screams while Penelope started crying in his shirt. "I thought you were a psycho, but clearly that's too sissy of a word to describe you!"

"88-66-17-25!" Barns yelled desperately.
"Okay okay..." Sighed Scratch and knelt down. "This was getting boring anyway. Mr. Barns, I know another game called one-armed bandit. Give me the real code and I won't show you how it goes."
"That was the real.. code..." Barns sniffled.

"Hm... How can I be sure?" Scratch dropped the cutter and pulled a little plier out of the bag.
"I swear it..."
"I mean everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie except this..." Scratch put the plier on one of Barns' incisors and pulled it out with one jerk.

Barns howls were now loud enough for the gang outside to listen to them, and when they heard Barns yelling out from his missing tooth, Murray couldn't stand it anymore and ran to puke in the kitchen's sink.

"Okay Barns" Scratch grabbed his chin "Now tell me the truth."
"Why... do you... do this?..." Barns said between sobs.
"Interesting question... and very philosophic too. But you forgot one thing. I AM THE ONE WHO ASKS THE QUESTIONS!" Scratch punched Barns' face so hard that a second incisor fell out.

At this point, Penelope couldn't stand it either, so she broke free from Sly's arms, then she unlocked the door and opened it, after that she ran away to her and Bentley's lab while she cried.

"The real code is 56-77-89-00! I swear it!" Shouted Barns suddenly out as Scratch lunged out again. "That is the code! Really! Please, just make it stop! Please!"
"Finally Mr. Barns… it was about time… And of course nothing would be further from my thoughts than not complying with your wish." Scratch reached into his back again and pulled a gun out of it.
Calmly he screwed the silencer on it.

Sly saw what Scratch was doing, so he used his cane to snatch the gun from Scratch's hands. "Come on, give it back." Scratch smiled awkwardly friendly towards Sly.
"That's enough already, you went too far, I'm not giving this back to you." Sly said while he put the gun in his backpack. "Untie him now, we have to take him to the police department as soon as possible."
"Thank you." Barns said in tears to Sly. "Thank you, thank you!"
"No problem…" Sly said. "I promise that nothing will happen to you. You'll be fine…"

A swift movement of Scratch was enough to throw a knife right at Barns' heart and stop Sly in midsentence. Barns just shed a tear and looked at Sly with a look that said: 'You promised that I'd be fine.', then his head slumped to a side and his eyes lost all signs of life.

"I still have it." meant Scratch admiring his own throw.
Sly couldn't help but grunt in impotence and slam Scratch against a wall while he glared at him.

"What's wrong Sly?" Scratch asked like nothing happened
"Why the hell did you do that for?! He had given us the code, there was no need to kill him! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" Sly demanded.

"He saw our faces." The psychopath meant and got loose from Sly's grip. "And besides that, the Duke would've killed him nevertheless."
"Carmelita could've protected him, he could've lived!" Sly said.

"I don't know who this Carmelita is, but do you really think that people like the Duke or me doesn't have methods to kill people under police protection? Let's just say, it's better for him." Scratch walked without deigning another look at Sly.
The psychopath dog walked past the raccoon and entered the community room, happily he called out with a wide grin.
"The code is 56-77-89-00"

Everyone in the room glared at him, while Penelope wiped her tears, and while Jing and Murray cleaned their mouths from the residues of vomit that they had.
Both women stood up and slapped Scratch as hard as they could.
Or at least they tried to do so, as Scratch dodged the slap attempts.
"This is really your first time torturing, isn't it?" He laughed almost amused by so many different shock reactions.

"You are not a maniac, Scratch, you are a monster." Sly said while he pointed his index at Scratch menacingly.
"What do you want? We have what we need. The code is ours!"
"We could've obtained it without that sheer demonstration of brutality and savagery." Bentley stated.

"Oh, okay. Then tell me how? In my opinion this was the unica ratio."
"My truth serum, you unevolved specimen."
"Oh truth serum!" Scratch replied. "Okay, try it on me, let´s see if it´s good"
"Never, I rather eat my wheelchair than wasting something of my great new formula on you , let alone the fact that I don't think that anyone here would like to hear whatever sadistic stories you know."

"Oh great, a new powerful formula. I bet you tested it... I mean a real scientist would test the formula. Maybe you tested it on one of your friends here." Scratch turned to the others. "Someone felt like he had to say the truth recently?"

"I tested it on myself, I would never betray my friends like that."
"Who knows how strong your drive to search is? Maybe you don't betray them now but you'll need test subjects for your formula sooner or later..."
"I told you, I tested it on me." Repeated Bentley.

"One person isn't enough." Declared Scratch. "The serums I used were tested on thousands and still they kill with a probability of 50 percent. So don't bother me with truth serums." Scratch said and sat on the table.

"Do you really think I didn't know?! I'm the brains here, I know all about serums, and I tested it on myself, it was more than enough, I'm invulnerable to truth serums, yet mine worked just as I expected.

"And that could be just because of luck. And do you think just because you are the brains everyone else can't be right?"
"You're an idiot!" Cursed Bentley.

"Call me whatever you want, I have a results. You maybe would've just poisoned the guy and killed him before he could have said anything." Scratch meant shrugging triumphantly.
"Screw you, Scratch!" Bentley said while he rolled to his lab, being followed by Penelope.

"Always a great fun to mess with the geniuses." Laughed Scratch. "They think they are the smartest in the room and automatically underestimate the others"
Right then, a dart hit Scratch on his neck.

"Oh... violence. That's the genius' way of solving problems." Scratch shouted towards the retreating duo while he pulled the dart out of his flesh.
"It was to make you shut up, three seconds before neurotoxins kick in." Bentley said while he and Penelope entered into the elevator that lead to their lab.

"Neuro... tox...in?" Scratch babbled.
Scratch's sight got blurry, but he could still see how the gang smirked almost evilly at him before he lost consciousness.
"Just... don't rape me..." were his last words before he passed out.
The gang shivered in disgust at Scratch's words, then Jing, Sly and Murray left to their rooms.

Scratch slept until the next morning began. The early rays of the sun that touched his face woke him rudely up.
He felt that there was a warm damp under the cheek he was lying on and as he straightened up he realized that he lay in his own drool
To make matters worse Scratch realized as he opened his eyes that he was lying on the floor.
"Great..." He mumbled while he wiped the drool from his face

Scratch got up on his weak shivering legs just to sit down on a chair immediately.
Then he noticed that the Cooper gang was already around, acting nonchalantly, as if he wasn't there.
"I slowly start to like this chair" Scratch said to the gang also imitating their nothing happened behavior. "I think this'll be my chair."

"Bentley, remind me to burn that chair." Sly said while he sipped on his coffee.
"You won't claim that chair, nor you will burn it, the entire dining table is mine!" Penelope yelled from the kitchen.

"We'll see about that." Said Scratch as a well-known pungent smell reached his nostrils. "Do you smell that?"
"Yes, go get rid of you macabre job, now, before the neighbors start complaining from that stench." Sly said while he sipped his coffee again.
"It seems that I have to do that... You wouldn't believe how penetrant this smell would become. Luckily I have enough acid with me to make the recognizable parts unrecognizable... but I could need some help."

"Do you really think that we would help you?" Bentley said.
"Well, I can't do that alone." Protested Scratch. "I need some assistance"
"Good luck with that." Laughed Bentley.
"Oh come on! Don't be like that. We just cut the corpse in parts and dissolve them in acid."

"Don't you dare to say that as if it was the easiest thing in the world, you perverted psychopath!" Penelope demanded.
"But it is easy... just see it as advanced training."

"Advanced training?!" Murray said. "What I do in the Hazard Room is advanced training, that's just a sick way of burying someone dead!"
"Yeah, but nevertheless a valuable ability." Scratch meant pointing his index finger in the air.
"A valuable ability? The Ninja Spire Landing and the Railwalk are valuable abilities, that's just being sick and twisted." Sly said.

"You are making me tired, Sly, of course holding balance and landing right are important abilities but getting rid of a body is also one." Scratch sighed. "So, any volunteers?"
"It wouldn't have to if you had let him live." Sly replied while he stood up.
"If you had given him to the police he would be dead by now... wait... what's the time?" Scratch rolled up his sleeve and glanced at an expensive looking watch. "Nope, sorry. He would be dead in about one hour."

"Nevertheless, he would've lived a bit longer, every second counts." Sly meant.
"Great last minutes. In a cell. Alone. Is that what you would imagine your last moments?"
"No, actually I imagine myself dying in the claws of a mechanical monster with no feelings that had lived for hundreds of years thanks to an steady diet of jealousy and hate, who had the express intention of wiping out my entire family line."

"At least... not alone." Joked Scratch as he gave Sly a nudge on the arm. "Now seriously, I need a volunteer."
The gang glared at Scratch, none of them was going to help him with his grim task, or so they thought.

"I will." Jing said.
Everyone including Scratch turned surprised towards Jing.
"You?" The dog probed.
"Y-yes, me."
"Hmm... okay. Why not?" Scratch opened the door of the room in which Barns corpse still sat lifelessly on the chair.

"No, I will not allow it!" Murray said.
"Indeed, she's too young!" Penelope stated.
"Why?" the dog asked. "How old is she?"
"She's barely 20 years old, even I'm older!"

Scratch looked perplex at Jing and then back at the group.
"So? Where is the problem? I worked with younger people."
"You sick maniac!"
Scratch who was sick of getting permanently called sick just continued.
"The youngest was twelve I think... We just got rid of the corpse of his father he had killed. But I´m not sure... he could have been ten too. Who knows?"

"You... You're not a psychopath, again, I still think that you're this close from becoming a monster like Clockwerk was!" Sly said.
"Think what you want... Jing, shall we?" Scratch asked.
Jing started walking towards the room, but Murray didn't let her pass.

"No." He said with firm voice.
"Please, I am the only one that has dealt with something like this twice." Jing said. "I will be fine, you do not have to worry."

"Yeah, let her pass!" Scratch called from behind.
"You, shut up!" Sly ordered Scratch and then said to Jing. "We can't let you do this, we promised the Panda King that we'd keep you away from danger!"
"As long as she don't put any limbs into the acid that shouldn´t be dangerous!" Scratch called in again.

However, if Scratch's comment had done anything, it was just angering the gang even more, who replied in unison:
"SHUT UP!"
Murray sighed and looked into Jing's eyes, then he said: "Are you sure you can handle this?"
Hesitatingly, the young panda girl nodded.

Murray sighed again, then, much to the gang's surprise and anger, he let her pass. What else should he do? Jing made a decision and he, as her friend, he didn't want to be in the obstacle in her way.

Jing walked into the room in which Scratch waited. Curiously, Jing's walk was similar to the walk of a criminal on the green mile. Slowly and fearful with folded hands sending a quick prayer up to god. And soon as she had passed the threshold of the room, Scratch slammed the door shut. Now she was trapped with the psychopath.

Outside of the room, Murray sighed and went to check on his van. Everything he could do was wait and pray that Jing's mind could take whatever this psychopath threw at her.

Inside the room, Scratch was about to start what he called 'the magic'.
"Okay... Jing. Let's get this started."
Jing stood six feet away from the corpse while she controlled her gag reflex olympically. She wasn't only nauseous because of the stench but also because of the sight.

"Yeah, I know, a bit disgusting... but you'll get used to that. It's quite impressive though that you haven't puked already…"
Jing couldn't stand it anymore, so she ran to a corner of the room and emptied her stomach's contents there.

"Okay... I maybe was a bit too rash... but never mind. That also happened to me the first time." Scratch walked to Jing and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Do you feel better?"
"No..." The girl moaned weakly.
"Well... just take a few deep breaths, then get rid of the rest of what is in your stomach and then come and help me. You just have to pour the acid into the little plastic tubs over there and help me to put the cut off limbs into it."

Just the mention of her duties were enough to make Jing vomit once more. Scratch let her go and walked to the backpack that still stood there. This time he pulled a saw out of it. Knowing what he had to do the dog started his work.

Humming a song, Scratch started sawing on Barns' shoulder blade.
Jing meanwhile started murmuring a mantra. The girl kept her sight away from Scratch while she strode slowly to corner in which the plastic canister stood. She opened the canister and poured the acid carefully into the plastic tub while she closed her eyes.
"You´re meditating?" Asked Scratch while he increased the pressure on the saw to get through the bone.

"Everything is alright, this is just like... a bit of training of a new art, learning is good..." Jing murmured and walked to Scratch. She didn't want to see him sawing, so she kept her eyes closed.
"That's the spirit." Laughed Scratch and ripped off the arm which was just attached to the rest of the body by a bit of skin. Grinning he handed the arm Jing. "Jing... may I call you Jing?"

The young panda just kept murmuring to herself and hesitantly grabbed the arm, which she immediately dropped.
"Keep calm Jing... keep calm." Scratch said while he picked the arm up.
"Calm down, you are strong, do not disappoint the gang. You owe them your life, they need you this time..." Jing said while she breathed slowly.

"Jing..." The dog started flicking his fingers in front of the young panda's face. "I need you here with me. Your full concentration."
"Stay calmed, this is necessary... Grim, disgusting, horrible and unnatural but necessary nonetheless..." Jing said while she opened her eyes and saw the dog flicking his finger close to her face.

"You're back from your... dream world whatever, Jing?" He asked, still flicking his fingers.
"It is called focusing, I needed my chi to be focused on this grim and horrible task."
said the panda and slapped Scratch´s flicking hand away from her face. Angry she glanced at him with a small frown. "And I would prefer if you called me Ms. King or King-san, Scratch-san."

"Oh okay, Ms. King." Scratch laughed. "Nice name."
"Do not dare to laugh at my family name!" She snapped at him.
"I wouldn't dare." Smirked Scratch and gave her the arm. "Here, you know what to do with it?"

The girl grabbed the arm and tossed it into the plastic tubes as if it was trash.
"Goddammit girl!" Yelled Scratch. "Don't throw it! The acid is splashing!"
"Normally I am never rude, but this situation calls for it." Jing let out to herself. "Do I look like I care?"

"Do you want to get something like this?" Scratch rolled up his sleeve and showed her a finger long bulging scar near the elbow on his left arm. "First time I worked with that acid, poured something on me accidentally."

"That is what I call karma."
"Just saying, be careful with that stuff." Sighing Scratch grabbed his saw again and started working on the other arm.
"I know what I do…" Grumbled Jing. "Every day I work with dangerous substances to make my fireworks."

"You say one thing and do the other..." Mumbled the bald head guy.
"I do not, and if you excuse me, I would like you too not speak to me anymore."

"Oh, come on, I hate playing butcher in silence. Let's talk a bit... it won't hurt." Scratch said with false sadness. "Even the kid I once worked with talked with me..."
"But my mother always told me not to speak with drug dealers."

"Hm... my Mom always said I should be a good dog... but your mom's advice isn´t bad too."
"My mother was a good woman, she did not deserve what she got. She was loving, she was merciful, she was forgiving, but fate snatched her from me..."

"What happened?" Scratch asked and set his saw on Barns' right leg now.
"I do not wish to speak of it..."
"Okay." To Jing's surprise Scratch didn't esquire any further. "If you don't want to talk to you don't have to. I understand... "

"What could you possibly understand?!" Jing said while she threw Barns' left arm to the acid.
"Much Ms. King, much. I also lost people close to me too." Scratch started to put increase his sawing speed. The bone in the upper leg was not really something what you could easily cut through.
"I do not believe you, you must have turned your back on them."

"And why you think so?"
"Because of who you are." Stated Jing.
Scratch stopped sawing and looked at her. "Who do you think I am?"
"A psychopath, hideous monster, like the ones which mothers use to scare their children to make them obey." Jing said while she chuckled. "No, you are worse, the only being worse than you is Clockwerk himself."

"Hmm... and you have this picture of me after less than 48 hours." Scratch stood up and left the corpse aside for a moment. "What would you do if I tell you that I'm not the monster you think I am? What if I tell you that some of my deeds, even though they look cruel, very often or at least sometimes, have a good intention behind them?"

"I would laugh." Jing said coldly. "That would be like saying that Clockwerk had another reason other than jealousy and hatred to slain Cooper-sempai's clan."
"Maybe he had? Who knows? But due to the fact that you don't want to tell a story while working, mind if I tell one?"

"I could use a laugh right now."
"You remember that I mentioned that I once worked with a person, a kid, younger than you?" Scratch knelt down again and took his saw. "I told you that I helped him to get rid of his father's body after he killed him."
"So?"

"I met the boy years ago... lying in a little alley beaten half to death. I don't think that I have to mention that he was crying. As I asked him what happened he told me that his father did this to him."
"So this guy was a..."

"Nothing more than an abusive father." Scratch said baldly. "No criminal, not suspicious, his neighbours said he was a nice guy, paid his taxes, mowed his lawn, the usual thing."
"How could he?" Jing asked bewildered.
This was something that Jing couldn't understand in the slightest. After all, even if her father had been a criminal, he always treated her well, he loved her and never hurt her. So how could such a guy do that to his family?

"Interesting question... I think I have to owe you an answer. Maybe it was psychological, maybe he drank, god knows. But the story isn't over yet." Scratch finally was done with the right leg so he started with the last leg now.
"It is... so disgusting..." Jing said, referring to the man.

"Just started… The boy also had a little sister. She was six years old, her father gave her the same treatment like the boy. But she... how should I say that... she wasn't as tough as her brother."
Jing gasped, imagining the worse.
"The coroner in charge believed what her father told him, mainly because her wounds suited the diagnosis. She fell from the stairs. That was the official report." Scratch started sawing faster. "But the unofficial truth was that he hit his daughter so hard that he killed her."

Jing gasped in complete horror, she had met evil men and women, but that was just sick. How could a man be so cruel? Raliegh, Muggshot, Mz Ruby, her own father would never be capable of such a brutality.

"And now there was this boy lying in front of me who begged for my help..."
"How can a man be so... so sick?! My father was one of the most wanted criminals, but he always protected me and loved me."

"As I said, no idea. But still we are not at the end of the story, because there is also a mother in this story."
"Please don't.." Jing said. "I-I don't think I can stand it..."

But Jing's plea seemed to have fallen on deaf ears as Scratch just continued, like a VCR with a broken stop button.
"She had a strange codependence with her husband. No matter how often he beat her or abused her, she couldn't leave him. She didn't even tell the police that her husband killed his daughter because she feared that he had to go to jail and she would lose him. All in all, this man was the king of his own wicked kingdom. Untouchable by the police or other authorities. And here is where his son enters the stage of this theater play."

"Please... stop..." Jing begged while she tried to hold back her tears.
"His son wanted revenge for his sister... Poor traumatized boy, I mean he had to watch it."
"Shut up... please!" Cried Jing desperately but Scratch still continued.

"So what did I do? I helped him... I know that helping a child killing his Dad isn't... nice or morally correct but... there was no other way to deal with this man. I borrowed the boy my gun, with silencer of course, and watched how he sneaked up on his father and shot at him until the mag was empty"
"Please! I beg you, just stop!"

"And then... we did this." Said Scratch. "Just me and him. In a room like this one. I cut the man in parts and he helped me." Scratch laid the bone saw aside. He was done with the last leg and done with the story.

But it had already taken a toll on Jing's mind. The panda was now shaking and trying to get rid of the images that the story had put up in her mind, but it was impossible.
"Ms. King, calm down. Everything is okay."
"No, it is not!" Jing said. "I-I can't... So horrible..."

"Horrible... definitely." Scratch said and walked towards Jing. "But it's over."
"Not in my mind... I feel like I was there..."
"With due respect but I think if you had been there, you would've shot the father." Scratch laughed and patted her on the shoulder. "Anyway, that was my little story. It's your turn, if you like."

"I-I don't think I could have done it... Not after what happened with my mother... I-I fear guns too much..."
"Yeah... your mother... I know you don't want to talk about it... and it's okay, but I have to ask, what happened?"
"She took a bullet for me..."

"What happened?" Scratch probed and gave her a sympathetic look.
"An assassin... That is what happened..."
"It seems that our pasts aren't that different..." Grinned Scratch.
"YOUR MOTHER DID NOT DIE IN YOUR ARMS WHEN YOU WERE JUST A KID!" Jing yelled.

Scratch was taken aback by the young woman's sudden outburst, he saw the pain reflecting in her eyes, a look that he knew too well to his liking. The bald dog simply sighed and responded calmly:
"No... I was a bit older."
"My mother gave her life so I could have a chance to become a good person... But I have failed her, I have dishonored my family and her memory..." Jing said while she started sobbing. "I became a thief..."

"Hey, don't cry..." Scratch meant. "You are a good person."
"I am not! My mother would probably be disappointed by me, and so would be my ancestors!"
"You are." Scratch repeated. "And I think the last thing your mother would be is disappointed of you. She loved you. And I believe that she just wanted, like every mother, that you are happy."

"I am a disgrace to my family..." Jing said, making deaf ears to Scratch's words.
"No you are not... you..." An idea struck Scratch's mind. "Ms. King, why are you part of Sly's group?"
"Because of three things: I owe them my life and freedom, they have helped me twice and they offered me a family, something which I lost long ago."

"So, let me summarize that. You have a second family that accepts you and you do that to settle a debt... to not disgrace your actual clan."
"Yes."
"So who exactly you are disappointing?" asked the dog grinning.

"I.. I do not know..." Sniffed Jing.
"Me neither." he smiled. "And especially not your mother."
"I do not think she would think that it is good that her daughter has become a thief and a pyromaniac like my father..."
"But she would still love you. And never forget that... I mean, would you think my mother would've liked what I've become?"
"No mother would..." Jing said. "But I think if she were alive, you would not be here, is not it?"

"The circumstances are a lot more complicated than this but... you could be right"
"Could... Would it be alright if I... if I ask about that?"
"I think it would be fair." Said Scratch with a loud sigh.

"What happened to her?"
"She got shot by an assassin at a festival... together with a lot of other people." Scratch seemed ten years older while telling that.

"I am sorry... I did not know..."
"You couldn't know... There was no way you could..."
Jing gulped hard and wiped the remains of her tears, then she frowned a bit, having just made a very difficult decision.
"... I think it is only fair... if I told you my story..."
"If you don't want, you don't have to."

"It is something I have to do." Jing said. "I used to have a happy family, a big, strong and loving father, and a caring, amorous and kind mother. I remember that we were a very happy family, even if my father was a criminal. But all that change when I met her."

"Her?" Scratch probed.
"Her name was Mei Ling Tsao, General Tsao's older sister. She had been hired by someone who she called Mr. Y, to kill me and my father."

"Why you? I mean your father as a target is understandable, but why you?"
"I do not know, I just remember that she barged into my room and threw me against a corner, then she pulled out a gun but before she could shoot, my mother had entered into my room, the assassin ordered my mother to go and she would let her live but she tried to exchange her life for mine. Mei Ling told her that she was not her target but me." Jing said while tears started forming in her eyes. "Then when Tsao tried to kill me, she got in the way and took the bullet for me... After that my father was able to chase her away... But in the end she did kill someone... My mother died in my arms, I listened when her heart stopped beating."

Out of a reflex, Scratch stepped closer to Jing and gave her a hug. The odd thing was Jing didn't even struggle. She let it happen.
"Just let it out, it's okay... it's okay."
The young panda returned the hug and started crying in his shoulder.
They stood there like that for a while. Jing hugging Scratch and Scratch hugging Jing.

Finally, after a few minutes, Jing stopped crying, then she let go of the hug and smiled at Scratch.
"Thank you.." Jing said softly.

"No need to thank me." Scratch said with his usual ice melting smile. "And if I can ever help you finding this woman... or this Mr. Y. Just ask."
"I cannot ask for your help, Scratch-sempai, Tsao is mine, I have to stop her on my own. It is a question of family honor. And Mr. Y, the only thing we know is that he once crossed paths with Cooper-sempai's father and Fox-san's father, he is a maniac that has caused too much suffering around the world."

In this second, it was like Scratch has seen a ghost. He almost paralyzed and looked at Jing with wide open eyes.
"Ms. King... when was your mother killed?"
"I was a kid, like four years old or five, I do not remember well thanks to the hit that Tsao gave me."

"So about 15 years ago?" Nervously Scratch started biting his lower lip.
"Yes." Jing answered a bit bewildered by Scratch's actions and questions. "Why do you ask, Scratch-sempai?"
"Just an idea that bothers me... nothing more... I have to check something. Oh... and..." Scratch pulled an old cellphone out of his pocket and handed it Jing. "If you ever need my help... and if it's even just to help you locate Tsao, don't hesitate to call."

"I will but why will you not help us stop Mr. Y?"
"Cause he is mine... and I won't just stop him." Whispered Scratch.
"Pardon?" Jing asked.

"Nothing... just... as I said I have to check some things. But I will tell you if I get some results."
"Then it would be an honor to fight by your side, Scratch-sempai."
"The honor would be mine." The bald head dog bowed in front of the young panda.
Jing smiled kindly at Scratch, then she bowed back to him.
"You may call me just Jing or Jing-chan if you like, Scratch-sempai." The young panda said.
"I will, Jing." Scratch replied with a smile.
A bit after that, Jing remembered that they hadn't finished with their task.

"I think we are not done yet." Jing said while she pointed without watching at Barns' torso.
"Yeah, you're right. Come on, let's get this done."
Scratch and Jing rolled up their sleeves and put the rest of the body into the acid, something that didn't really take them long, even if Jing had to stop several times because she was retching too much. As they were done Scratch wiped some sweat from his forehead.
"Okay... done finally."

"I thought I would throw up a third time a couple times, but at least we are done."
"I know... this smell is almost unbearable at first but you get used to it."
"I do not see how."
"Just believe me." Laughed Scratch. "And besides that you will like fresh air a lot more now."

"Yes please, or else I will not stand it anymore and will vomit."
"Then let's go." meant Scratch. "The acid needs its time to do the work. I don't think that we have to be here all the time. After that we have to take care of the rests."

"Do not hesitate to ask for my assistance if you need it, Scratch-sempai."
"I'll ask right now... because I already know I'll need it"
"Then I will help you, though I still think that this is creepy, grim and disgusting."

"You have to remember one thing while working with dead bodies." Scratch pushed the door to the community room open to let some fresh air in.
"It's just flesh. Treat it with respect, but not with fear." He meant a bit more quiet so the others wouldn't hear them.
"I will, Scratch-sempai." Jing said while she bowed.

"Excellent." Scratch nodded approvingly towards her and then he walked towards the others on the table. "So... what you were doing in the meantime?"
"We were looking for therapists for Jing, I just hope for your own good she isn't traumatized for life." Sly said.

"She's fine... and she learnt some new skills."
"I'm gonna teach you new skills!" Murray yelled while he lunged at Scratch.
"Oh... no..."Scratch backed quick away from the table so he could dodge Murray closely.

Murray threw several punches at Scratch, who could barely evade them. However, Murray had led him against a wall. The situation seemed hopelessly for the psychopathic mutt but when Murray was about to knock him out, Jing got in the way. Luckily, Murray was able to stop before he could even touch her.

"Close on... Thanks Jing" coughed Scratch
"What are you doing?" Murray asked.
"Stopping you" Jing said. "Trust me, we still need this psychopath monster, he is an idiot, but he is still useful."

"But I thought that you... That he traumatized you..." Murray explained.
"No, he actually just showed me how much of a monster and a jerk he is."
"Right!" Scratch confirmed who realized immediately what Jing was up to.

"Shut up, you idiot." Jing said to Scratch with a wink.
"Hey stay cool." Scratch said with subdued voice.
"Sorry, Scratch-sempai." She whispered back.
"I'm glad that you want to help me to maintain my image but don't exaggerate it... They'll get suspicious if your attitude towards me changes completely. Just behave like before."

"Right, forgive me, Scratch-sempai." She nodded.
"No problem..." Scratch cleared his throat and spoke louder again. "Well everyone... I have to call someone. Don't cry, I'll be back in ten minutes."

"Or you can just not come back, that is a good choice too." Sly said.
"Ah Sly... what would I do without those comments..." Scratch laughed loudly.
"True, what would we do without Sly's comments?" Bentley stated.
"Probably die out of boredom."
That sarcastic remark was the last part Scratch heard from Sly before he closed the door behind him tightly.

A bit privacy, exactly what he needed now for what he was up to. Mr. Y... could this man be the same? Could it be the same shadow that once laid onto his life? He needed to know that. Out of his coat pockets he pulled another old looking cellphone and dialed a number. Few moments later, someone answered his call.

"Nefarius? I need your help with something" He immediately spoke into the speaker as he didnt hear the dialing tone anymore. "Collect everything about an incident 15 years ago in China in which a family called King was involved... and then search for a connection between this incident and the names Sly Cooper and... something with Fox... I know that you have not much time but... you'll do it? Great! Call me as soon as you got something... Yes, this bastard... I hope so too, but you know he is
somehow involved in everything… Thanks again, Nefarius."