Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
(Yaoi Fan Fiction)

For disclaimer : I do not own Sly Cooper or any of their Characters.

Sly Cooper and the gang in: Tide of Terror

"...it's nothing like that, you know I still have no clue how it works. It's...", Mercury trailed off, before sighing once more. "Sly... can you help me up?", Sly saw Mercury extend his hand to him, in need of a little help. Sly really wasn't sure, if this was some kind of trick, a way to talk himself out of it. Helping him stand, he pushed him to the wall, making firm and stern eye contact. Mercury noticed his gaze, realizing there is no way out of this.

"Fine, ...if you insist...", Mercury's eyes glinted, the light reflected perfectly by the hanging chandeliers. Sly got a very weird feeling, was Mercury making him feel like this? "After we left you guys on the streets, I was sure they were going to kill me, but instead they drove me to a pretty well secured and secluded fort. You must have noticed the heavy security on your way there... and may I add you are lucky you didn't set off the wasp's nest.", Sly's eyes didn't falter for a second, intent to find out everything.

"I had two choices. I could run, maybe get out with the slightest chance of success and team up with you guys. They would hunt us down until the end of days, and you'd never get to avenge your family. Or... accept to stay with them, train under their lead and help them on their missions... but I'd never get to see you again. That is what I had to agree upon...", Mercury saw Sly's mouth opening, leaving it agape, his stern gaze slowly fading.

"Don't give me that look... as if I had any other option. I wouldn't want to get in the way of your quest. After the agreement I was placed in this small squad and left in the hands of them. The general values the squad a lot, and doesn't shy away from assigning them to any missions, if any 'force' is needed. My instructor... Raz, you have met him, he is that big wolf, back from the night where we...", Sly saw Mercury sigh, sorting his thoughts, before he continued.

"Well, I was trained and it wasn't so soon after, that they brought me with on a mission. I would be lying, if I said I wasn't scared to death. But it went rather well, up until we were to return home. We were supposed to retrieve a man with valuable information. Yet, there were unforeseen consequences... snipers caught us out and worst of all I got split from the group. There I was confronted by this really big guy, he was supposed to execute the target beforehand, but we intercepted. He followed us and then he came for me...", Mercury's gaze evaded Sly at all costs, but Sly could see Mercury's hands visibly shaking.

"I did what I was trained to do, I wanted to protect the man, even if I could barely protect myself. I shot him, but the trigger didn't work, all I could hear were clicks. But I'll be honest, I don't think I could have shot him anyway. I saw him, the way his eyes looked at me, they were filled with death. It was weird though, my body couldn't move... and I was scared, yet for a moment my mind felt at ease. It was almost as if all my pain was lifted from me. For a moment I didn't mind dying-", Mercury felt Sly's hands tighten, pushing him firmly against the shelf.

"Mercury! What the fuck! Do you-...", Sly's eyebrows formed a mad frown, seeing Mercury talk about this in such a calm manner. "Don't be ridiculous, Sly. I said, I only felt that way for a moment, I don't feel anything like that anymore.", Sly felt him brush off the hands on Mercury's shoulder, seeing him walk a few steps ahead. "They helped me in the nick of time. I was horrified, as I was covered in all of his blood. I looked at the guy, wondering if he was dead. I had never seen anything like that and it was, too, much to take in at once. I was told they had to retrieve me and the informant, after I blacked out. I had nightmares about all the blood, and just now I... my mind must have played a trick on me...", Mercury grasped at his arm, pressing it tightly, as he turned to Sly.

Sly couldn't believe his ears, and if he had not just been there to hear it himself, he would have claimed everything to be a lie. But right now... something felt strange... was this really Mercury, the same guy he knew from before? "If you felt that way why would you...", Sly's eyes trailed over his friend, locking with his. "Why would I leave the van? Well, if I want to improve, what good is it going to do me, if I don't get out and get involved in the action? Your words Sly: 'I need to find my reason to fight.'", Mercury's lips formed a slight grin, his hand scratching at his neck. Even with Mercury's boosted confidence, Sly still felt uneasy and worried about his safety, especially after seeing his legs tremble with his words.

There is something off, why would such a quiet and shy guy try and act tough all of a sudden. "Are you sure? I'm not mad, if you think you've had enough.", Mercury's eyes closed for a moment, Sly saw him take a deep breath. The trembling in his legs stopped, as he opened his eyes, his smile growing wider. Mercury nodded at him, the two of them taking the barrel with them further into the library. Sly eyed his friend, his gaze never leaving him. Maybe he did change in that small amount of time...

Mercury sometimes glanced back, meeting Sly's gaze, smiling slightly. Yeah right, Mercury was more than scared, and would rather be in the van, but after what he said that would be more than embarrassing. He was glad, that Amy showed him those breathing techniques to calm himself. After the final carpet traps, Sly smashed open the case, getting their hands on the key. But, for what it's worth, Mercury felt relaxed right now. Was it the breathing exercise? Or the lips forming the familiar and refreshing smile towards him? Who knows?

After having left the library, the guys went straight towards the generator, Sly unlocking the cage, allowing them to step in close. Sly took a big wind up and swung his cane, smashing the generator with a hard blow. They could hear the fizzling faint slowly, the tunnel losing it's electricity and ability to keep conducting the power tube.

"Astonishing! All my calculations led me to believe you would fail to knock out that generator", Sly and Mercury took careful steps through the tube, as he grabbed his Binocucom to see Bentley. "Never was good at math.", Sly could hear a sudden squealing coming from behind. He turned to see Mercury tangled in seaweed, which protruded from the tube, laughing at the image of him spitting and slapping towards the seaweed. After having his share, Sly helped him, pulling him out of the entanglement. Mercury frowned, pouting at Sly for a moment, before walking past and out of the tube.

"Well, here's a real test for you... I've found a way up to Raleigh's hide-out, but unfortunately it is doomed to failure.", Mercury and Sly looked around, spotting Raleigh's blimp further up. Sly's eyes kept wandering, falling on a really big cannon. "You're not going to tell me I have to shoot myself out of that cannon?", Sly walked besides Mercury, checking the locks on the cannon. They would need more keys...

"I'm afraid that's the only way.", Bentley sighed, looking through the vision of the Binocucom. "Now you're talking!", Mercury knew Sly was excited, but this could turn out horribly. His fantasy going wild with images of Sly flying off course and drowning in the water. Sly spotted the worry in his face, his eyebrows raised and eyes fixated on the heavy locks. Mercury was all up to do his best and aid Sly, but he really questioned his enthusiasm sometimes. Sly snapped with his fingers, bringing Mercury back to the real world. He looked up at him for a quick glance, before getting back on his feet and walked up next to him.

"You're really scaring me, man. Anyway, to get inside that thing, you have to steal all seven of Raleigh's treasure keys.", Sly tightened his fist, walking further towards a small metal bridge. At the end stood a guard, luckily still unknowing of their presence. "So what are we waiting for? You show me those 'holo-whats-its'...", Bentley blinked a few times, his what now? "You mean my holographic markers?", Bentley saw him nod a few times, dismissing any further lecture. "Yeah, yeah – and I'll swipe whatever it takes to get shot out of that cannon and steal back my family's Thievius Raccoonus.", Sly put away the Binocucom, charging head first against the guard on the small bridge. Mercury followed as fast as possible, as he went for something resembling a small submarine.

"This thing can take you to where Raleigh's gang of crabs stashes away the sunken treasure. My calculations tell me, there is a key waiting down there.", Sly inspected the inside of the submarine, turning to Mercury with a slight smile. "Not enough room for two, you just wait here, alright?", Mercury nodded, but tightened a hand on Sly's arm for a moment, looking into his eyes. Mercury wanted to tell him he should be careful down there, but as he stood there wordless Sly simply smiled, ruffling through Mercury's hair. Mercury blushed slightly, letting him go. The submarine's lights blinded Mercury for a second, as Sly descended with it, Mercury seeing him smile towards him.

Mercury waited and sat there, his head leaned back to take in the full amount of rain drops, letting his feet dangle over the ledge. After a few minutes, he wiped away some drops out of his eyes, grabbing for his Binocucom. "Bentley, listen to me. Whatever plan Sly made you come up with, to get me out of that base, scratch it and move on without me.", Mercury could hear Bentley fumble on the other side of the connection, probably hacking into a connection to watch Sly.

"Uhm... uh-What makes you think that Sly told...", Mercury sighed, as Bentley's words faded more and more, ending in pure mumbling. "I've known him long enough, to know he would try something so stupid. I told him he should not already, and he may have agreed, but I know that was just for show. Bentley, all I am asking is... stay away. These guys are more than he can handle, and I've got my own matters to attend to with them. I don't want you guys to get involved in the trouble.", Mercury held the Binocucom to his chest, closing his eyes, feeling the rain drops trail down his face.

"Convincing Sly of that is not going to be easy, you know that, right?", as Mercury opened his eyes, he saw the submarine coming towards the ledge. Mercury eyed Sly closely, seeing his smile fade slowly, as their gaze met. "I know.", Mercury watched Sly step out of the submarine, retrieving the treasure key from one of the submarine's mechanical arms. Sly's wet footsteps came closer, Mercury looked up towards him, seeing him put the key in his backpack.

"Something wrong? Missed me?", Sly put on a coy smile, seeing Mercury smile slightly for just a second. He gestured towards the next marker. Walking behind Mercury he saw him stash away the binocucom. What did he miss?

The two of them stepped down through the entrance, where the holographic marker was placed, entering an almost hidden cave-like interior of the ship. It was weird, seeing planes and ships all over the place, being kept in such a constricted space. Walking past them, Mercury eyed many of the planes, the way they hang from the ceiling like they were still airborne. Traversing across the ship wrecks would not be easy, especially with the security around.

"Ahoy, deckhands. Capital job unloading that cargo last night. You're the crown jewel of my operation. Do me the service of proving your service yet again, by protecting the treasure key, that I have stored down there. It appears there is a prowler on the premises. And if any of you let him get his hands on that key, I'll-", the loudspeaker squeaked furiously, as it crashed down into the water, leaving only the cable to fizzle slightly. Sly turned to see Mercury, holding a nugget of gold in his hand. Mercury tossed the other at the further away speaker, causing it to spew sparks, stopping any further transmission.

"Well... that's one way to shut him up.", Sly met Mercury's gaze, smiling at him, as he dropped the rest of the gold. "You heard him, the last key is here. It's not like we needed to hear more.", Mercury looked over the railing, watching the speaker slowly submerge into the water. "I'm just saying that we can forget the stealthy way now.", Sly's finger pointed towards two guards running towards them. Mercury realized that he was a bit, too, hasty, getting behind Sly. He just smiled, as Sly rushed towards them, smacking them out cold.

"Now let's go find that key.", Mercury followed him, but that was easier said than done. The cave was filled with water, letting the ship wrecks float and shake around. Ascending towards the planes, they could see the treasure key and vault, but they would have to take a whole loop over the planes. Taking careful steps across the hanging planes and evading the spotlight, they spotted more guards below.

Sly dropped off of the rope, taking out the octopus, gesturing Mercury to come down. It wasn't that much further, and Sly did a great job at taking out the hostiles. They hopped on some scrap piles floating in the water, getting closer and closer to the last shipwreck. Two more guards... Sly's eyes trailed over to Mercury, feeling his slight tenseness. He poked his shoulder, gesturing him to soften up, before he jumped from platform to platform. Mercury followed him slowly.

Sly reached the end, spotting the first guard right ahead. This was going to be easy. However before he could start his leap towards the guard, Sly felt a hard tug on his foot. He turned to see his foot stuck in the wreckage, pulling on it only made it worse, as the guard heard the noise and spotted him immediately. The walrus came charging towards, ready to slam him flat with his belly. Sly readied his cane, but the walrus never reached him, as Sly saw Mercury fling himself at the guard.

Both had a rough landing, sliding over the rough deck, the guard smashed into the railing. Mercury recovered and stepped back swiftly, but realized the guard didn't move or rather he was unable to, his head stuck in between the railing. Watching the guard attempt to struggle, Mercury almost completely spaced out, only realizing Sly's distant cry out much later. Mercury turned to look over at the other guard, a golden star already on it's way. It felt much, too, close, as Mercury could literally feel it brush through his hair. The guard already threw another one, but this one was aimed at Sly.

Sly was still pinned, pulling on his leg furiously, not even noticing the star flying at him. Mercury struggled to run, seeing Sly slowly turn towards the golden star. It will hit him, regardless of what Mercury would do now... Sly! Mercury's insides screamed, he can't let anything happen to him, he could not allow it. Mercury felt a small drop trail down his face, why would he start crying at a time like this. He had to try and throw himself in front of Sly, it was his only chance.

Mercury was overwhelmed by a sensational feeling, completely stopping him in his tracks and seemingly everything around him. What is going on? His eyes looked around himself, seeing everything almost like a simple image, nothing moving at all. Mercury looked at his hand, why did it move almost normally? He shook his head, there were bigger things at stake. His eyes fixated on the star, a grumbling escaping his lips, he leapt at it, his fingers trailing over the metal.

Wow... it felt so smooth and so light. Mercury's grip on it tightened, almost like it was natural. The feeling slowly faded, Mercury saw Sly's gaze slowly lift towards him, meeting his gaze. With the metal in hand and the world almost back to normal, Mercury spun around, flinging the star at the guard, hitting him in his chest. The guard tumbled, stumbling back over the railing, into the water. Sly eyed his friend, seeing Mercury breathe in very short bursts, slowly turning towards him. Mercury got down on his knees, helping Sly out of the restraining wreckage, before falling back on his backside.

"Mercury... are you feeling alright? Don't tell me it just happened again.", Sly crouched down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder concerned. Mercury felt so drained, like someone zapped out all of his energy. "I'm fine, let's grab the key and get out of here, okay?", Sly could tell by his tone, that indeed it did. Ever since the first incident, Mercury was terrified of himself. He had hoped Bentley could help, but at that time he was missing the technology and they could not and rather would not want to recreate the scenario.

Sly saw Mercury continuously rub over his right eye, a steady stream of tears forming in it. He didn't want to mention it or poke him with any more questions, quickly ascending towards the safe and key casing. Why didn't it stop? And why was it such an unbearable feeling in his eye? Mercury stopped rubbing, feeling the sight in his right eye fade in and out, unable to adjust itself properly.

After feeling the hand on his shoulder he realized Sly's return, finally they could leave this cave behind. With a treasure key in hand and a Thievius Raccoonus page to top it off.

Once outside, Sly immediately contacted Bentley, already on their way to the cannon. Sly kept an eye on his friend behind him. "Hey, Bentley, we got the last key, we're ready to go and meet Raleigh now...", Mercury's ears deafened out the sounds around him. He could hear his own heart beating, feeling it beat at a slightly faster pace than normal. Sly handed Mercury the keys, informing Bentley further on the matter.

Sly stowed away the Binocucom, seeing Mercury hold the few keys in his hand. "Hey, pal, you've helped me out a lot, you know that, right? I'm sorry for what happened there, and now more than ever I wouldn't be mad, if you want to go back to Murray and Bentley.", Mercury twisted the key inside the lock, it dropped with a heavy clunk.

"How'd you get the last key, we didn't have all of them, did we?", Sly just stood there for a moment. Is he even listening? Sly got a little closer, seeing him insert another key. "Well... when you blacked out, I made sure there were no guards around and left you in the hands of Bentley. He watched you through the security feed and was ready to call me back in an instant.", Sly saw the next lock drop, Mercury eyeing the last key, before he turned towards Sly.

"I guess I really messed up there, if you want me to go back, I will.", Sly could clearly see his eyes darken. "Hey- hey, hey, hey... no, nobody thinks you messed up. I don't blame you for what happened, I was just worried. And especially now... I'm glad you were here, you saved me.", Mercury looked into Sly's eyes, taking a moment before the last lock dropped to the ground. Sly opened the hatch of the cannon, turning it to aim at Sir Raleigh's hide-out.

He stood at the open hatch, looking at Mercury with Sly's usual eyes full of hope. Sly could hear him mumble softly to himself. "Well? You coming?", Mercury's eyes trailed over his friend, traveling further to Raleigh's fearsome blimp and weather machine. Wouldn't he only get in the way? Mercury stood there, eyes fixated on the blimp, scratching at the nape of his neck. A chill went down his spine, as he felt soft breathing down his neck. Sly? He stood right behind him, slowly he turned to look back at him.

"I think I'll p-", Sly gripped his shoulder tightly, swaying back and forth with him, towards the open hatch. "You think you'll punch him real hard? That's the spirit!", Sly pushed him further, Mercury practically tumbling into the cannon. "No, I'll pas- uff...", Mercury hit the metal inside, looking at his friend. Sly lit the fuse, lying down beside him and let the hatch drop. "I wanted to say that I'll pass.", Mercury could see the raccoon smile at him in the near darkness, his eyes being lit up by the moon shine coming through.

"Too, late now. Guess you'll just have to stick with me.", Mercury could hear the fuse reaching it's end. He never had an actual choice, did he? Mercury grumbled slightly, bracing for the flight. The cannon fired, launching them both through the air. The air pressure was overwhelming, Mercury shielded his eyes, seeing Sly simply embrace it and grimace with the pressure. Sly caught a glance of him, seeing him putting on such a serious expression. Sly pulled him in closer, smiling at him, as he pulled more twisted grins. But after the fun, Sly was back on track, breaking a window to the blimp, as the two them dropped in. Is he ever going to take things seriously?

-[Inside Raleigh's Hide-out]-

Raleigh:

"How delightful. We have guests. The only thing is... I HATE UNEXPECTED GUESTS!"

Sly:

"Listen, Raleigh. Wipe out my family and steal what's mine, you better expect company."

Raleigh:

"Ohhhhhh, I'm ever so sorry. How sloppy of me not to finish the job. Obviously we should have snuffed you out as well. So without further ado, let me make amends by, what... BLOATING TO GARGANTUAN SIZE AND SQUASHING YOU LIKE THE INSIGNIFICANT BUG THAT YOU ARE!"

Sly:

"Bring it on."

Mercury felt like Sly was not entirely seeing in what situation they were in... water surrounding them, limited available space to actually fight, and worst of all a killer frog grown to gargantuan size after having swallowed a bee. Sir Raleigh leapt from his throne down towards them, flopping down on one of the platforms all around them. He came crashing forward, making their platform tremble immensely.

Sly pushed Mercury out of the way, dodging Sir Raleigh's attacks several times, as he slowly lost his size. After turning to his usual size, Sly quickly ran in and bashed him with his cane. Sly sent him flying into the water, from where he quickly jumped to the middle platform, swallowing another bee.

As he started his next assault, Mercury noticed the platform beneath his feet glowing with bright red bulbs. Was it going to...? Mercury was caught right in the middle of his thought process, as he quickly leapt towards Sly's platform. The other's all submerged in the water, leaving very little space for Sly to dodge Raleigh. Sly saw Raleigh's last jump go towards the edge Mercury was clinging to. He acted quick, his cane catching Raleigh's foot and pulling him back towards the middle. After he shrunk once more, Sly didn't wait to deliver another blow with his cane.

Sir Raleigh returned to his platform, slightly agitated by his 'guests'. Sly grasped for Mercury's hand, pulling him upwards on the platform. A quick thankful nod was all he could give him, as Raleigh smashed down in between them once more. Sly acted quickly, pushing them apart carefully. Mercury noticed the platform they were one was about to submerge, the red bulbs setting him off. He quickly went to Sly, grabbing for his hand, as he jumped for the next platform. Raleigh followed them platform by platform, Sly keeping a close eye on him, as he shrunk down behind him again. Another blow hit, as the two of them stopped in their tracks.

Sir Raleigh was fueled by his anger, his tongue catching another bee, as he descended to them one last time. Raleigh's tongue lashed out, his body kept twisting and twisting in a circle, trying to catch the both of them and send them into the water. Sly jumped over the tongue, seeing Mercury crouch beneath him. Mercury's hands came dangerously close to the tongue. What was he doing? He finally stood up, his hands catching it and gripping it tightly. The lash pushed him around hard, almost sending him flying, but he could finally get himself to stop, feeling Raleigh nervously trying to pull his tongue back.

"Sly, he's all yours.", Sir Raleigh's eyes caught Sly coming down from above, his cane giving Raleigh a final knockout blow, sending him flying, crashing into the pole in the middle.

Raleigh:

"Blast it all! You've beaten me! Well, gloat all you want, Sly Cooper. You're no match for Muggshot, my villainous cohort in Utah. You will see, Mesa City is so well-guarded, a snake couldn't slither in without setting off alarms! Uahahaha."

-[Raleigh's Aftermath]-

"Raleigh's section of the Thievius Raccoonus held detailed instructions on how to perform my ancestor's Rioichi Cooper's ninja spire jump. A technique he developed while sneaking into the thickly fortified castle's of feudal Japan.

Finding a way off of Raleigh's boat got a little tricky, with the untimely arrival of Inspector Fox. Who, failing to find me, busted Raleigh and his crew.

With the storm machine out of commission, boats found their way back on the ocean and the mystery of the welsh triangle faded from memory.

While we would have enjoyed to stay a little bit, take in the scenery... and local treasures, we promised Mercury to be back in time. He would soon realize, that one never easily gets rid of a Cooper."

End of Chapter seven.