Ah, THIS chapter. I've been looking forward to writing THIS chapter for a while. It's a bit shorter than usual, but I think you'l see why. Enjoy.

Chapter 10: Sacrifice

"Neema!" Sly raced out of the vault as soon as he heard the scream. The fact that Le Paradox could have easily left him behind right there didn't even slow him down. He would never be able to return to the present in good conscience with an innocent's blood on his paws. Fortunately for him, Le Paradox was curious enough that he chose to halt the machine and follow him out.

Sly reached the edge of the cliff first and looked down. Isis and the assembled forces of the Sisterhood were staring up at him, looking far too numerous to take on. Worst of all, Isis had Neema at knifepoint. "My, my, this all seems familiar, doesn't it? You really need to keep better track of your friends, Slytunkhamen."

"Let her go!" Sly shouted, a bit more forcibly than he had intended.

Isis just rolled her eyes. "This again? Has anyone ever told you that you're kind of predictable?"

Sly ignored the smug glance from Le Paradox and calmed himself down. Losing control now would only make things worse. 'What are your terms?"

"Luckily for you, I don't have another moral dilemma for you to mull over. All I want is you to surrender yourself to us."

"Deal," Sly said instantly.

"No!" Neema yelled.

Isis smiled. "Good. Now come down here, would you? And while you're at it, bring the weird machine. You won't be needing it anymore."

Sly was about to respond when he felt a sharp kick to his backside. He stumbled forward just a bit, but it was enough for him to fall completely over the edge. Spinning himself around in midair, he thrust his cane into the wall, slowing his fall just enough for him to reach the bottom safely. As safe as you could be surrounded by a few dozen bandits anyway.

"I beg to differ," Le Paradox said darkly, sneering down at them. "Do whatever you want with those two, but I'm getting out of here!"

Sly snarled at him furiously. "Le Paradox, you-!"

"What? Did you think we were buddies now? That I was going to risk being stranded here for the sake of you and fox girl? I was willing to take you along before only because it happened to be more convenient, but now that you've put yourself on a sinking ship, I've decided I'm not going to sink with you."

"Cute little speech, but you're not going anywhere," Isis said calmly. "Ladies, go get him please."

As Le Paradox started priming the time machine again, the Sisterhood of the Sand flung themselves onto the wall and started climbing up to him, using a combination of their weapons and their claws to scale the cliff at remarkable speed. Swift as they were though, Sly could tell that they would never make it in time. The machine was already starting to power up, glowing with blue light and producing a faint hum. As a last resort, Sly pulled him arm back and flung his cane straight at Le Paradox's head.

His aim was true.

But it didn't matter.

Right before the cane would've struck him, the skunk's arm shot up and grabbed it out of the air. "What's this? A parting gift? How lovely." Sly's face fell in horror as Le Paradox casually tapped the cane against his shoulder. The glow and the hum of the time machine got more intense and Sly could just barely make out his sinister grin. "It's been fun Sly Cooper, but you know that only one of us could win in the end and it's not going to be you. Au revoir!"

The skunk laughed maniacally as the glow got so bright that it enveloped him completely. A second later and he was gone.

The Sisterhood all gasped at his sudden disappearance, looking around frantically. Even Isis had a look of utter shock on her face. Sly didn't see any of this. He had completely tuned out everything else after Le Paradox vanished. Just like that, all hopes of returning to the present, of seeing his friends again, of making up with Carmelita, were gone for good. He was dead to the world at this point, just staring down at the ground in silence. He didn't even notice as the sand cats eventually recovered and surrounded him.

"Oh well, no great loss. This is the one we really wanted," Isis grinned, releasing Neema who immediately ran over to Sly's side.

He flinched a little as she wrapped her arms around him but otherwise didn't react. "Slytunkhamen, I'm so sorry! I just wanted to be a part of the heist! I didn't mean to ruin everything for you!"

"It's not your fault," he finally managed to say, though his voice was low and monotone. And truly it wasn't her fault, it was his. It was his fault for letting his emotions get in the way of the mission and for letting Le Paradox out of his sight. Now he had lost everything.

"Oh you poor thing, you look frightfully pathetic," Isis mocked. He didn't have the energy to respond. "Seize them."

"Slytunkhamen!" Neema called out again as she was dragged away. Sly finally snapped back to his senses and made a move to go after her, but a well-placed club to the back of his head ended any chance of resistance and he passed out.

As Sly came to again, he immediately felt the wind against his fur and knew that they were no longer inside. Indeed, when his eyes opened, the only thing he could see was the night sky. He attempted to get up and quickly found that he could not. Tilting his head up to look around, he saw that his wrists and ankles had been firmly restrained by thick leather bands and he was lying on top of a stone alter. He looked to his left and saw Neema in a similar position, though she was not yet awake. They were both placed in the middle of the canyon, surrounded by the Sisterhood.

Okay, definitely not the best situation I've gotten myself in.

There was a light groaning from his left, and he turned to see Neema starting to wake up herself. "Ugh...where am I?"

Sly tried to answer her, but Isis cut him off, casually leaning over the fox. "So you're finally awake, are you? I didn't think we hit you that hard."

"What are you going to do to us?" Sly demanded.

She looked at him with complete indifference. "Us? We're not going to do a thing. Our god has commanded us to offer you as sacrifice. Your manner of execution will be entirely up to him." It now occurred to him that the other sand cats weren't just standing around. Some were pounding on ceremonial drums in repetition, while others crouched low to the ground in silent prayer.

Oh yeah, this is bad.

"Then what do you need Neema for? If I'm the only one he wants, then let her go!"

She put a claw to her chin, as if in serious in contemplation. "Hmmmm...no. I think we'll keep her around just in case you try anything funny. If you're lucky, perhaps the divine one will show her mercy." She leaned in close to him and grinned wickedly. "But I sincerely doubt it."

Sly could've sworn he saw a large shadow quickly pass by overhead as Isis continued to taunt him. "You thought you were so clever, didn't you? When you bashed me in the face and ran off with our loot? Well who's laughing now? By the end of today, the Sisterhood of the Sand will be more powerful than ever, while you and your little friend will be nothing but dried out husks buried under this miserable desert."

The shadow passed by again, lower this time. Sly knew he wasn't imagining it because the Sisterhood noticed it as well and the beats on their drums started to get louder and faster. Despite the odds, he remained confident. Even if this really was a god, he had outwitted many mortal adversaries in the past. Who said he couldn't do the same to a divine one?

The shadowy figure appeared once more, turning in mid-air and diving down towards them. Sly, Neema, and the sand cats all had to close or cover their eyes as the giant kicked up a huge cloud of sand upon its landing. As the sand cleared, it slowly stood up to full height, towering over the two prisoners. It was close enough to be seen clearly now, and its face was a familiar one.

No...it can't be...

All of Sly's confidence drained away in an instant, replaced by an intense feeling of terror and dread that he thought he had experienced for the last time. So many things made sense now: Why the Sisterhood's god had wanted them to steal for him, why their hideout was more technologically advanced than it should have been, and how they had managed to repair the time machine. He knew now that he was facing no god.

No, he was much worse than that.

"...Clockwerk?"

The metallic owl reared his head back and let loose a screech that rippled across the canyon.