LAST CHAPTER! Well, last FULL chapter, anyway, we still have an epilogue.

But yeah, we're wrapping up here! Work is still happening (slowly) on the sequel, but it is coming along!

Enough about that, though. Enjoy the chapter!

"You know," I said, pressing against the back of the front seat and looking over Murray's shoulder, "for such a secretive guy, Clockwerk's not particularly subtle, is he?"

The giant security doors set into the face of the mountain in front of us were locked up tight, but they also featured a motif of a metallic owl with glowing yellow eyes, so it was safe to assume that the security wasn't to protect the identity of whoever was living in the volcano lair.

"That's not necessarily a good thing." Bentley checked his seatbelt for the millionth time, adjusting his laptop on his legs. "Okay, is everyone ready?"

"You bet!" Murray revved the engine.

Metal snapped into place as Sly locked the turret ammunition into position. The new addition to the van took up a lot of space in the back, which made the long drive a bit cramped, but it would be a lie to say I wasn't relieved for its presence. "And willing."

I nodded, running my fingertips over the extra ammo rounds. It would be my job to refill the turret if and when Sly used up all the ammo. I really, really hoped that so much ammo wouldn't be necessary, but I knew by then not to bet on that. "Ready when you are."

'Ready' was relative, really. I wasn't ready to head into mouth of the volcano that lit the clouds above it with the ominous red glow of fire and lava, nor was I ready to have someone relying on me for something important. I was, however, ready to get this over with.

Catching Sly looking at me, I gave him a smile that was hopefully more confident than I was and nodded- ready to go. He nodded back, got into the turret, gripping the handles tightly. "Okay , Murray. Let's do it."

With the press of a button, the roof of the van flipped open and the turret was rising up, into open air that absolutely stank of sulfur.

I threw my arm over my nose, which did little to stop my eyes from watering. "Well, this job is already off to a majestic start."

Bentley's laugh was a tiny bit hysterical. "That's just what volcanoes smell like, Kaia."

"No wonder he picked this place as his evil lair," I muttered as Sly blasted in the security doors and Murray started slowly easing the van along the thin path inside, "the smell will keep anyone with a sense of smell far, far away."

"If that doesn't, all the mines will!" Murray said anxiously, eyeing the field of blinking lights in front of us, "Sly, shoot out the mines, we need a safe path!"

The turret was deafening next to my ears and I fought to keep both the ammo levels and the path in front of us in sight at all times, which was practically impossible. Fortunately, Sly cleared the last of the mines away just as he ran out of ammo, so I quickly pulled the lever to bring down the empty cartridge, pulled it free, and snapped a new one into place.

We emerged from the tunnel to see a winding stone path and a veritable ocean of lava stretching before us. Beyond it, a large, owl-shaped tower rose in the distance.

"Bingo!" Bentley said, his fingers flying over the keys on his keyboard. "My scanners indicated that Clockwerk is holed up in that tower!"

"How can you tell?" I asked, trying to get a peek at his laptop.

"He puts off a very peculiar energy signal that-"

"Whoa!" Murray ducked away from the windows as streaks of flashing metal spun around the van, shrieking. "We've got hostile robo-falcons at twelve-o'-clock!"

"I'm on it!" Sly's voice was almost completely drowned out by the rapid firing of the turret. Fortunately, the falcons didn't seem too sturdy. All it took was one hit somewhere vital and they went down, into the lava.

Even so, there were enough of them that I had to replace the ammo cartridge when Sly was done, shaking out my fingers after touching the friction-heated metal.

There was a rocky rise jutting out of the lava between us and the tower and, as we approached it, Bentley made an involuntary strangled noise. I whipped my head around to look at him, but he was staring at the tower as its eyes started to glow.

"That's no tower!" he shouted as lightning-like energy beams shot out of it, crashing into the rocky outcropping in front of us, sending a cavalcade of rocks crashing down. "It's a giant Death Ray! Sly, you've got to take out those rocks or we're in trouble!"

"Why is there a Death Ray?!" I shouted over the firing of the turret, "Why does Clockwerk have a Death Ray? What even is a Death Ray?"

"I don't know, I don't know, and it's exactly what it sounds like!" Bentley shouted back, fingers digging into his seatbelt as he cringed away from the windshield and the rain of gravel that was flying as round after round of ammo pulverized the rocks that were cascading toward us.

We had maybe a split second to heave sighs of relief after the rocks were destroyed before Murray was shouting, "Heads-up! The robo-falcons are back!"

"How many of them are there?" Sly shouted in frustration, laying and shooting them down.

"Minefield!" Bentley shouted back.

Sly managed to clear away the first few mines before the turret made a clicking noise, "I need a reload- hurry!"

I quickly switched out the cartridges, swallowing when I realized there was only one more left. "We don't have unlimited ammo, Sly, keep an eye on it!"

"I know!" he shouted, before going back to clearing out the mines in our path.

At some point, Bentley had pulled his arms and legs and most of his head into his shell and now just had the top of his head and his glasses poking out to watch the Death Ray activate again. "More boulders!"

These boulders, radioactive boulders going by the way some of them pulsed green, met the same fate as the earlier rocks. One came dangerously close to hitting us, but Sly managed to divert it into the lava with the last few rounds of ammo in the cartridge.

I'd barely pried the searing empty cartridge out and snapped the last one in when Murray shouted, "We're getting swarmed!"

Mechanical falcons came pouring in, apparently having spawned from the freaking ether, shrieking back and forth as they swarmed around us, several lighting up for apparent kamikaze runs before Sly managed to shoot them down.

There were dozens of them and Sly was just firing into the central mass, hitting quite a few, but losing a lot of bullets too.

Only one falcon was left when the turret made the same clicking noise as before and Sly went tense and still. "I'm out!"

"Oh no!" Bentley ducked into his shell as the falcon lit up and came spinning toward us-

Three deafening cracks rent the air, echoing off the arching rocks around us. It was difficult to tell where exactly the falcon had been hit, but it crashed to one of the rocky islands in a rain of metal, wires, and parts.

"Who-" Sly started at the same time Murray said, "What-"

Bentley's head popped right back out of his shell and he gaped at the falcon parts littering the rocks as we drove past. "That was a high-caliber rifle-"

"Murray!" Sly shouted as the hippo turned into a tunnel that should lead us farther into Clockwerk's lair. "That cave doesn't look tall enough for the turret to make it all the way through-!"

It was too late, though, and Sly had to dive into the back of the van, crashing into me and knocking us both into a corner as the light vanished and we entered the tunnel completely. There was an almighty crunch, metal screamed, and then the turret was being yanked free of the van and tumbling to the path behind us.

"Oops," Murray said quietly.

"We need to get through that security door on the other side of the cavern. The only way to unlock it is to analyze at least sixty of those hanging computers."

"Yeah, well," Sly said, pulling the roof flaps down and securing them. "It would've been easy to get to them if Murray hadn't thrashed our new turret!"

"I said I was sorry!"

That was true, but it didn't mean Sly wasn't still a little pissed.

"We were out of ammo anyway," Jinx said, pointing at the scattered empty ammo cartridges.

Bentley had his laptop open and his fingers were a blur against it. "It won't be a problem. I can hack the computers' connection couplings so they'll fall to the ground- and into range for analysis. But the lava slugs will probably be attracted by the sound and try to find out what caused it. If they get to the computers, the heat will fry the circuitry."

"Lava slugs?" Jinx asked, getting to her knees and grabbing onto the back of the front seat to peer over Murray's shoulder at the slightly discolored orange lumps moving around under the lava. "... why." It wasn't a question, it was more like a sigh of resignation.

Joining her, Sly said, "Got it. Murray, if those lava slugs get anywhere near the computers while Bentley's hacking, use the new battering ram to knock them away."

"It looks like there's only one hundred and nineteen computers," Bentley said, adjusting his glasses. "If we lose sixty computers, we're not getting those doors open.

"You got it, guys!" Murray revved the engine. "Drop 'em, Bentley!"

"Um, shouldn't we have seatbelts for this?" Jinx asked, digging her claws into the back of the seat. "I mean, I really, really think we should have seatbelts for this."

"Get ready, Murray!"

Reaching around Jinx's shoulders, Sly grabbed onto the seat on the other side of her, holding on tight. "Brace yourself," he advised with a wicked grin.

She shot him a glare just as the first computer crashed to the cave floor.

"Go, Murray!"

"I'm going to throw up on everything you love."

The van was currently parked, but the only reason I was still in it was because collapsing on the volcanic rock outside of it would probably have been slightly more uncomfortable. Slightly. Very, very slightly.

Sly's cane dug into my side when he gave me a nudge. "I thought you had medicine?"

I didn't even open my eyes to reply. "There's only so much motion-sickness medication can do when Murray's doing donuts and figure eights for ten straight minutes."

"But we got all the computers!" Murray shouted. Cloth rustled as he presumably pumped a fist. "Take that, lava slugs!"

"Nice driving, Murray," Bentley agreed, his fingers clacking on his keyboard. "Alright, through those doors should be the control room for Clockwerk's Death Ray. I think it's time for a little Cooper thieving and sabotage, don't you Sly?"

"Oh," Sly purred, "Absolutely."

I did raise my head when he opened the back doors and prepared to jump out. "Be careful."

He grinned, saluted with his cane, and closed the doors behind him.

Peeling myself off the van floor, I crawled over to and draped myself across the back seat, looking at the binocucom feed on Bentley's computer. "Theories on the Death Ray?"

"It might have just been security," Bentley said slowly, "but I doubt Clockwerk would go through that much trouble. He doesn't seem like the type to run and hide."

"Yeah," I agreed, watching the little raccoon icon move into the next room. "So what's he planning?"

"Hopefully, we'll never have to find out."

The three of us waited in silence until Sly pulled out his binocucom to do a survey of the next room.

"Careful, Sly!" Bentley warned, zooming in on the walkway to the next part of the mountain. "Those tiles are booby-trapped. You'd better get out of there until we can find a way around."

"Hold on," Sly said, zooming in farther, on a figure in the next area. "That's Carmelita! She looks trapped."

"What's she doing here?!" I leaned forward, trying to see. "How did she get here before us?"

"I don't know, but we've got to free her."

"Are you crazy, Sly?" Bentley asked. "Clockwerk probably stuck her there to trap you! And if you let her out, she's just going to turn on you, no matter what. Remember China? I reviewed the footage, she doesn't care about anything other than that you're a criminal."

"We can't just leave her to die, Bentley. Besides, what fun is thieving if you don't get to dodge the cops now and then?"

"Safer?" Bentley ventured, but then sighed, clearly aware that he wasn't going to win this one. "Your ridiculous raccoon logic sends shivers up my shell, but if you're determined to go through with this, that barrel will undoubtedly help- though I have no idea how you'll get up there."

"Dude, a spire jump here, a rail slide there- I've done this a million times!"

Sly clicked off and Bentley sighed.

"Do you think they'll be okay?" Murray asked, drumming his fingers against the steering wheel.

"I hope so, pal."

We watched, tense and silent as Sly moved through the room, avoiding the booby traps where he could and shielding himself with the barrel when he couldn't. He made it to Carmelita and it was almost no surprise when the room sealed up behind him.

"No!" Bentley shouted, watching Sly try to smash through the glass and fail.

The monitors in the room lit up with that familiar spiky silhouette and a computerized voice filtered through the speakers. It was calm and smooth and made my fur stand on end.

"You sentimental fool. Empathy has always been the downfall of the Cooper clan."

Gas started flowing into the room and Sly collapsed.

I didn't feel like I could breathe, but Bentley was moving quickly.

"I knew this was a trap!" he shouted. "I've got to shut off that gas before it turns Sly's brain to cheese. Kaia, take a binocucom and something to use as a weapon, we don't have any idea what kind of condition Sly is going to be in when I stop this, you might have to pull him out. And there's a pouch stored with the binocucom, try and get it to Sly."

There was no response for that. At least, not one I could come up with.

But, by now, I knew where the binocucom Bentley had me use was stored. I knew where it was and I knew where the hefty tire iron I'd used in Mesa City was.

Grabbing them both, I also grabbed the pouch Bentley had mentioned, strapped it to my leg, and took off out of the van.

Sly had already shut off all the security in the next room. If all I had to do was run and pull him out, it didn't matter that I wasn't a trained thief. I could do it.

The air outside was stifling and it stank and I was sweating practically before the van doors slammed shut behind me, but I could still run. The tunnel leading forward was dark, lit only from behind and from in front, from the red-hot magma flowing through the rooms.

Clockwerk's control room was a mess. One of the walkways had broken loose, all the security was broken and off, and bits of his defenses were littering the path.

The gas in the room was already dissipating as I got closer, vanishing almost instantly when the bulletproof glass blocking the entrance slid open. Still, I held my breath as I ran in, just in case.

"Kaia?!"

Carmelita was fine, kept safe from the gas by the force field, somehow, so I ignored her.

Sly was on his hands and knees, gasping and coughing, and I knelt next to him, hands fluttering around, not sure if it was okay to touch. "Are you okay?"

He nodded, then shook his head, as if to clear it. "Carme-" He looked up, saw Carmelita staring down at him, and sighed in relief. "Good."

"I was wrong about you," Carmelita said. She still sounded angry, frustrated, but not with Sly, not with us. "Get me out of this force field and I'll make it up to you somehow."

Sly reached out, gripping my arm, and I helped him up, taking a lot of his weight until he could shake off the gas. Even when he started to pull away, I was reluctant to let him. "You good?"

"Yeah." He gripped his can tightly and swung it at the base of the force field's casing.

Carmelita spun and fire her shock pistol at the door to the rest of the fortress, breaking it down. "Come on," she said, looking at us over her shoulder, "we need to get out of here before the gas comes back online."

Exchanging glances with Sly, I shrugged, and we followed after her.

We came out on a ledge overlooking a giant pool of lava and the machinery that I assumed powered Clockwerk's Death Ray. Carmelita was staring out at it, looking antsy, but she looked up when we approached.

"I don't get it," she said to Sly. "I've hunted you for ages, tried to throw you behind bars, but when you get a chance to leave me in a cage, you set me free. Why?"

"Carmelita," Sly said, rolling his eyes. "We may be on opposite sides of the law, but you're not my enemy. Now, the homicidal robotic owl that built this Death Ray and nearly gassed us to death? That guy's on my list."

"Besides," I said, tucking the tire iron under my arm so I could hold up both hands, palms ups, "it's not exactly equal. If he'd left you, you'd have died. You weren't exactly out for blood."

"I see your point," Carmelita sighed, looking out at the Death Ray. "In that case, until Clockwerk and his evil schemes are destroyed, I suggest we work together."

Sly grinned, looking around, "I have the feeling the three of us will make an excellent team."

"Hold on, ringtail," Carmelita growled. "This truce is only temporary. As soon as we take down Clockwerk, I'm coming after you."

Giving her a wounded look, Sly raised his eyebrows and asked, "Really?"

Hesitating, Carmelita amended, "Well... maybe I'll give you a... ten second head start." She rounded on me. "But you're coming back to Paris until your father can come collect you."

"And lock me in a tower somewhere," I sighed.

A familiar screech echoed through the area and we all looked up just in time to see a robo-falcon diving toward us. We all ducked, but Sly was knocked off balance when the falcon ripped his cane out of his grip and I had to lunge to grab his shirt before he could go into the lava.

"Wha-" Sly watched as the falcon circled. Carmelita leveled her pistol and fired off a shot, sending the falcon crashing into the Death Ray. "I need that cane! It's been in my family for generations!"

"Don't worry, ringtail," Carmelita snapped, switching out the power cell in her shock pistol. "I'll cover you while you get it back. If you can, make your way to the top of the Death Ray. That's where I stashed my jet pack before Clockwerk nabbed me."

"So that's how you got- wait. Wait, wait, since when are jet packs standard issue for Interpol officers?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at Carmelita.

She shifted and avoided my eyes. "I didn't think R&D would miss it. Besides, I couldn't wait around for them to finish testing."

"Remind me to return to this conversation after I get my cane back." Sly hurried off, jumping onto a nearby line and using the rail slide to ride it all the way down.

"So," Carmelita said, her voice casual as she blew up lava slugs with her shock pistol. "You're really not hurt?"

"No," I crouched at the edge of the outcropping, trying not to look down as I tracked Sly with my eyes. He was putting an awful lot of trust in Carmelita, expecting her to watch his back. Still, anyone who knew Carmelita at all knew that she would keep her word. "The Cooper gang's not bad. The only reason they haven't dropped me off at an American embassy somewhere is because I've always known their next stop. They didn't want to meet an Interpol welcoming committee."

"And how did you always come by that information?" Carmelita had one of those mom voices when it suited her. 'And how did you lose your homework, Kaia? Does it have anything to do with the ashes in the fireplace?'

"Some things," I said safely, still not looking up, "defy explanation."

"Mm-hmm," she hummed disbelievingly, returning her shock pistol to her side when Sly reached the top of the Death Ray machinery and gave us a jaunty wave. "Nice job, raccoon."

"Now what?" I asked, standing.

"Now we follow," Carmelita said. "The path is clear and I'm not trusting a criminal to do my job for me."

I cocked my head at her. "When you say 'we'-"

"You're coming too. I'm not letting you out of my sight until we're back in Paris."

"Sounds... awesome."

I hadn't exactly been sure what to expect from Clockwerk.

If even half the stories about him were to be believed, he was centuries-old, he was cunning, he was ruthless, and he despised the Cooper clan.

But it was one thing to hear all that, to think about it, imagine it. It was another entirely to see Sly, hovering with a jet pack over the lake of lava that had just consumed Clockwerk's Death Ray, and watch Clockwerk take to the sky to meet him.

Clockwerk was like nothing I'd ever seen. I'd met owls before, I just pictured one of them made of metal and pure evil. But Clockwerk didn't look like a person, he looked like a pure animal, one with no intelligence.

But he spoke, his voice full of quiet, potent hatred, carrying across the mouth of the volcano, to where Carmelita and I stood, watching.

"Sly Cooper. You have escaped my gas chamber and destroyed my Death Ray. Remarkable. You Coopers always find a way to beat me."

"Always?!" Sly voice crackled through the binocucom earbud that was still in my ear. "So that was you in all those pictures in the Thievius Raccoonus! Just how old are you?"

"Perfection has no age."

Carmelita raised her shock pistol and fired. The ball of electricity impacted, but didn't seem to do any damage. "What is this?"

"What," Sly was demanding, "you're immortal?"

"Revenge is the prime ingredient in the fountain of youth." Clockwerk didn't seem to notice or care about the fact that Carmelita was hitting him with shock round after shock round. "I've kept myself alive for hundreds of years with a steady diet of jealousy and hate, awaiting the day when I would finally eclipse your family's thieving reputation!"

"Kaia!" Bentley's voice came over the binocucom as Sly and Clockwork rose into the air, "Tell Carmelita to keep firing! The rounds from her shock pistol interfere with Clockwerk's magnetic armor! If Sly can fire into those holes, he'll be doing damage at a rate Clockwerk won't be able to keep up with!"

"Carmelita, keep firing, you're making holes in his armor! Sly!" I looked up at where Sly was turning, trying to keep Clockwerk in sight as the owl circled him. "I'll tell you where to fire, get ready!"

Carmelita's first bolt slammed into Clockwerk's head.

"Aim for his head, Sly!"

The rockets from the jetpack crashed into Clockwerk's head, warping and twisting the metal, now that there was no armor to protect it.

Clockwerk screeched, turning, and Carmelita's next bolt took out the armor on his talons. I realized with sick admiration that she was trying to make it so that he couldn't land by taking out his feet.

"His claws, Sly, aim for the talons!"

My heart pounded as I watched Sly dive and weave, avoiding Clockwerk's shots while trying to make his own. At least Carmelita was shooting- all I could do was sit and watch.

After several rounds to the wing, Clockwerk lost his equilibrium and plunged into the lava.

"Great shooting Sly!" Bentley cheered. "You got him!"

The next second, Clockwerk rose from the lava. His outer metal casing had come away in some places, especially around his face, revealing the moving parts, supports, and wires. Somehow, it didn't make him any less intimidating.

"Wow, that's one tough owl."

"I don't get it," Sly said, as Carmelita frantically switched out the power cells in her pistol, "You're so familiar with my family- you must have known my father had a son. If you hated the Coopers so much, why did you let me live when you stole the Thievius Raccoonus?"

"Because I wanted to show the world that without your precious book, the Cooper line was nothing!"

"Ah, well, that's where you're wrong. The Thievius Raccoonus doesn't create great thieves- it take great thieves to create the Thievius Raccoonus."

"Enough, Sly Cooper!" Clockwerk shouted, his frustration coming through for the first time. "I'll finish you like I finished your father. Then the Cooper line will be erased and the only master thief will be Clockwerk!"

Clockwerk's efficacy faded with his cool. It only took a few more hits to the head and wings for Sly to put him back in the lava- and, this time? He couldn't get up.

"Now's your only chance, Sly!" Bentley shouted as Sly abandoned the jet back to land on a hunk of metal outside the range of Clockwerk's flailing wings. "You have to get to his head and destroy it before his auto-reconstruct circuitry kicks in!"

"We need to get down there!" I said, turning to Carmelita. She nodded, face tight, and we took off running.

"I am..."

It was hard to tell if Clockwerk was trying to say something or if his mechanical voice protocols were just on the fritz from the heat, but he wasn't going down quiet.

"Blue seven."

I could see Sly running across the lava out of the corner of my eye as Carmelita and I tried to get closer to the lava lake in the center of the volcano. Carmelita jumped ahead and I looked over again, trying to track Sly's progress.

Clockwerk's motions stilled for an instant as I found myself standing directly in front of him.

My heart seized in my chest with terror, even though I knew Clockwerk couldn't possibly move. Even in the mouth of the volcano, my body went cold and clammy and my breath came short.

Clockwerk's eyes spun in his head when they met mine, shuttering and flickering different colors.

"... flowers..."

Then Sly landed on Clockwerk's back and started smashing his cane into the head that spun to meet him.

Carmelita landed next to me and grabbed my arm, pulling me along behind her. "Come on!"

"Cooper! You will never be rid of me! Clockwerk is superior!"

Those were the last words Clockwerk said before his head snapped of his neck and went arching across the lake of lava to crash into the molten magma.

There was a platform that must once have been a walkway that led to the Death Ray.

Why a walkway would have been necessary for an owl was beyond me. All I knew was that a walkway was there, it did have a handrail, and that Carmelita used the handrail as a convenient place to handcuff me.

"I have done nothing to deserve this," I informed her, rattling the silver cuff around my left wrist.

"Just making sure you don't wander off and come across any dangerous information," Carmelita said flatly, looking out across the lava.

Sly was on an outcropping not that far away, crouching and staring down at a few pieces of paper. Clockwerk had apparently had the last few pages of the Thievius Raccoonus on him and Sly'd had to practically go into the lava after him to recover them.

The van came screeching into the area, skidding to a stop so Murray and Bentley could both jump out. Murray saw Sly and cheered, raising his fists in the air, while Bentley crouched near the edge of the lava to examine some of the wreckage of Clockwerk.

I watched Sly's shoulders rise and fall in a heavy breath. Then he stood, shouldering his cane and making his way back.

He'd nearly reached us before he stood up and actually saw us. His eyes widened in surprise, then he grinned. There was soot smeared all into his fur and his shirt was ripped, showing off a wide gash on his right shoulder, barely visible under the blood that was soaking into the cloth around it.

But he was smiling. "Last time I checked, you can't just handcuff civilians to things, Inspector."

"I'm just taking her back where she belongs," Carmelita said, raising her shock pistol. "But don't worry." She pulled out another pair of handcuffs from a pocket. "There's more than enough to go around."

Sly went tense, preparing to run, but then Carmelita smirked.

"Ten."

Eyes widening in realization, Sly's mouth fell open before curling into its own smirk.

"Nine."

Sly looked my way, eyes narrowing in thought.

"Eight."

I raised an eyebrow and reached down with my free hand to pull free the pouch that Bentley had asked me to give Sly earlier, only for the raccoon to see it and grow an unholy grin.

"Seven."

Waving to get Bentley and Murray's attention, Sly waved them back into the van and gestured for them to drive down the mountain a little.

"Six." Carmelita was starting to sound confused at the fact that Sly still hadn't run off. "Five?"

She sounded even more surprised when Sly braced his cane against the rock as his feet and leaned his folded arms on top of it.

"... four."

I reached into the pouch and felt something small and spherical.

"... three?"

I pulled out a smoke bomb.

"... two..."

I looked up at Sly. He winked at me.

"... one."

Carmelita's pistol whined as she turned off the safety, prepping a shock round just as I threw a smoke bomb at her feet. It exploded, engulfing us both before she could get a single shot off. She started coughing.

"Cooper!"

I coughed into my sleeve, clutching another smoke bomb, just in case, when I felt hands on my left arm. My hand came free and another slipped into it, pulling me out of the way before letting go. I couldn't see a thing, but I heard a short scuffle and some metallic clinking before my hand was grabbed again.

"Come on!"

And then we were running.

We were out of the smoke cloud in just a few steps, running up the walkway, back toward the path where Bentley and Murray would be waiting. Carmelita was screeching behind us, but neither of us dared look back.

When we rounded the corner, we almost ran right into the van.

"Did you cuff her to the railing in my place?" I asked, panting.

"Yup." Sly tossed a key in his hand. "Don't worry, she'll be out in no time."

Bentley leaned out the passenger window of the van. "She sent out a distress call to Interpol when Clockwerk captured her. They're inbound, should be about a half hour."

"We gotta make tracks, Sly!" Murray shouted, leaning out his window.

"Yeah, pal, I just," Sly look at me, then looked away, scratching at the back of his neck with his good arm. "I just thought we deserved a chance to say a decent goodbye, that's all."

For a few seconds, no one said anything. All there was to hear was the burble of the lava and the wind of the mountain.

I looked at Murray, at Bentley, and at Sly, who was still just standing there, bleeding, holding his family's legacy with one hand and the key he'd just used to set me free in the other.

And I couldn't image going back home. Not yet.

"You know..." I said, slowly, trying not to sound too hopeful or be too hopeful. "You know, I... I still have a few weeks of summer vacation left."

Sly looked up, the look on his face mirroring my own wariness to hope exactly. Slowly, he smiled. It was a new smile, soft and warm. "Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Before you have to go back to school?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Lots of things can happen over summer vacation."

"I know."

"Oh, for crying out loud!" Bentley shouted, throwing his hands up. "Just invite her in before you bleed out or Interpol shows up!"

Throwing his head back, Sly started laughing. It was a little hysterical, like all the adrenaline and fear and relief and pain was catching up to him and he just needed to give it all a minute to come out.

Leaning forward, still chuckling, he pulled open one of the back doors and gestured. "Shall we?"

I hopped inside and pulled him in after me. "By all means."

And we're done! Sorry to those of you who were clamoring for a romance, I just didn't think it would be realistic at this point for either Sly or Kaia. A bit of flirtation will have to do.

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT THE EPILOGUE IN A FEW WEEKS! I'm serious, it will reveal information about the sequel and there will be an announcement afterwards about what we'll be doing while I'm writing the next story.

Until then, feel free to leave me your thoughts and check out the blog! See you in a couple of weeks!