Chapter 10
The Guardian
Sly stepped into the gang's hideout, gently twirling his cane as he called out, "Man, that heist went great. I'm a little disappointed Carmelita didn't show up though."
Bentley groaned, rolling into the house with the others following behind him, "Sly, you are terrible. The one time everything went according to plan, and you wanted Carmelita to show up and throw a wrench into the operation."
Sly shrugged, "Hey, this job would get boring if everything always went according to plan. Carmelita keeps it interesting."
Bentley rolled his eyes, rolling over to the stairs. He pressed a button on his wheelchair, making his flight rockets turn on before he went up stairs. Penelope and Dimitri soon followed, both to sleepy to do much else. Sly, Murray, and Panda King stayed in the house's living room, relaxing as Guru meditated out on the porch. It was nearly three in the morning when everybody else went to bed, but Sly stayed up. He had slept a lot the day before to prepare for the heist, and just wasn't tired.
Sly was flipping through TV channels, skimming for anything worth watching. After running through the whole list of channels twice Sly's eyes began to wander away from the television. He then noticed something sitting up on a shelf, a package. Sly stood up, moving over to the shelves before picking the package up. He read the label, and saw it was addressed to him.
Sly shook his head, a smile playing at his lips, "Good old Bentley, so worried about my safety he won't even give me my mail." Sly then gently ran his finger nail across the packages tap, starting to lift the flaps when a knock came at the door. Sly paused, looking over at the door.
Sly moved over, setting the box down on a coffee table before opening the door. Sly jumped when the person at the door crashed to the floor. He was injured, a large gash in his side and several cuts all across his body. He was a fox dressed in very warn blue jeans, a button down shirt, and cowboy hat.
Sly gasped, reaching down to help the stranger up, "What happened to you?"
The stranger coughed, blood spattering across the floor, "D…Don't worry……about me. I'll…be…fine."
Sly helped the stranger over to the couch, setting him down as he rushed up stairs. A few moments later, Sly came back down with Penelope and Bentley a few steps behind. Bentley held a medical pack in his lap, already searching its contents for bandages.
The stranger cringed in pain as Bentley and Penelope worked to bandage his wound. Sly got the stranger's wallet, opening it up to look at his ID card, "Keith Fox of Denver, Colorado."
Bentley and Penelope paused, looking up as Penelope asked, "Are you sure his last name is fox?"
Sly nodded, "Yeah, that's what it says. I don't see how he could be related to Carmelita though."
Keith cringed, turning his head to look at Sly, "No Sly, I am related to Carmelita, and that is why I am here. Carmelita is in danger, even if she doesn't know it yet"
"Danger, what kind of danger", Sly asked as he bolted up.
"The Guardian of the timeline, the Dahaka, he's here in Paris."
Bentley pulled a bandage tight, cutting it to length before applying it to Keith wound, "That is just a legend, that and the entire concept of the sands of time."
Keith groaned, standing up and moving over to the door. Bentley, Penelope, and Sly watched as Keith grabbed something on the porch, and walk back into the house. It was a long black sword with glass chambers. Keith held the sword up, the glass glowing. Suddenly, in a flash of light, Keith disappeared. Bentley and Penelope gawked, trying to figure out where Keith had gone when they realized Sly had also disappeared.
Sly blinked, and suddenly he was standing outside, a few yards in front of the house. Keith was knelt down on the ground, holding his injured side as he said, "Now do you believe in the power of the sands."
Sly nodded, "I believe, now tell me what's going on."
Keith cringed, gently picking up the opened package sitting beside him, "Just read the letter in here. It will explain everything."
Sly raised an eyebrow, taking the package from Keith and reaching inside. He pulled out the letter, gently holding it one hand as he began to read.
There is so much to say Sly; I don't really know where to start. I guess I should start when you were arrested. Yes Sly, I was finally able to catch you. It was after you sent me a bouquet of flowers, and I found a return address on the package. I traced it, and with the help of Interpol's finest and the local SWAT team I captured you. I thought everything would get better after that, but then something happened. When you were being to take to Interpol after your case, Muggshot attacked. He shot you, and you died within a few hours.
Now, that is when things started to get weird. Somehow, Keith, my brother, and I were given the sword and medallion of time. Keith then said there was a way to rewind time, back before I ever arrested you. That way, I could save your life. We helped your gang break out of house arrest, and then they helped me steal the last two weapons of time. With all four weapons we went to the island of time. I am sitting here waiting for Keith to finish making preparations. Soon, time will be rewound, but Keith says that there was a way to get this letter to you. I placed it in my gun hostler, right beside the dagger of time. Since it is in contact with the weapon of time, it should survive the trip back.
Well, that's everything that happened. Now, all that's left is to finally undo everything. I have worked with your gang, I have run from Interpol, I was even the one to steal the staff and dagger of time. I have spent some time in your shoes Sly, and it's helped me realize a lot about myself. Now, if this letter does survive, I will have mailed it to you with the medallion of time.
Finally, Sly, I'd never be able to say this to your face, but that's why I am saying it here. When I lost you, it rocked my world more then I ever imagine it could. I just want you to know that, well. Sly, you mean the world to me, even if I never show it. Once time is rewound, things will be back to normal between us. I'll be the cop, and you'll be the thief. Still, though no one but Keith and I will ever remembered what happened, it is something I never want to have to experience again. Sly, I just want you to know one thing. I can't imagine living in a world without you in it, Ringtail.
Carmelita
Sly stared at the letter in disbelief. It was impossible, he had died and Carmelita had actually turned back the hands of time, and made it so none of it had happened. She had saved his life, and had even broken the law to do it.
As Sly looked up from the letter, his eyes falling on the medallion of time lying in the bottom of the package. Keith coughed, slowly returning to his feet as he used the sword of time as a cane, "Though Carmelita and I were successful in rewinding time, something else was released. The Dahaka, the guardian of the timeline, is now hunting me and Carmelita. We broke the rules of time, and changed our fate and yours. For now, you are safe from the Dahaka, but that won't last for long. Starting at dawn you will have twelve days before the day Muggshot was supposed to shoot you. At that moment, you will also become its prey."
"Carmelita, what have you gotten yourself into?" Sly asked as he held the medallion of time in front of his eyes. Sly then sighed, gently slipping the medallion over his head and dropping it down the inside of his shirt. Sly then looked over at Keith, determination flashing in his eyes, "What can we do?"
"According to the legend of the Prince of Persia, he was able to fight and defeat the Dahaka. The Prince of Persia used a water blade forged of mortal hands, but that proved incapable of truly killing the Dahaka. For us to win, we will need the Spear of Oceanus and Trident of Poseidon."
"Why would need those weapons?" Sly and Keith turned to see the rest of the Cooper gang walking out of the house. They had stayed on the porch, listening to what Keith had to say.
Keith cleared his throat, turning to face the others, "Kronos was a titan of ancient Greek mythology, the Kronosians worshiped him and learned their mastery of time from him. The Dahaka is a part of Kronos, and minion to his power. Now, ancient legend dictates that the Kronosian culture was on the verge of ruling the world when the titan of the sea, Oceanus, and the god of the ocean, Poseidon, combined their power. By doing this, they pushed the Kronosian capital far out to sea, and created the island of time."
Bentley nodded his head, "That is all well and good, but I don't see why we need to go and steal those worthless artifacts."
"Oceanus and Poseidon hated Kronos, as did many of the titans and gods of ancient Greece. They also hated the Dahaka, believing that humanity, should it wield the sands of time, that they be able to change their fate. They changed the water of the world, empowering it with the ability to destroy the Dahaka. It is like poison to the creature, and the Trident of Poseidon and the Spear of Oceanus are weapons that are directly connected to every body of water in the world. They are the things that can kill the Dahaka, or at least force him to give up his chase."
"Do you know where the trident and spear are?" Sly asked.'
Keith nodded, "There here, in Paris. I did some research, and found out that they were in possession of a crime lord until recently, when they were seized by Interpol for part of an investigation. They should still be in storage somewhere in Paris, but I have no where telling there exact location. There is, however, someone who can."
Sly turned, looking across the glowing lights of Paris, "Carmelita."
In another part of the city, Carmelita was lying peacefully in bed. She had taken an extended vacation from Interpol, her first one in years, and was thoroughly enjoying it. She had gone shopping, gotten a massage, and even managed to catch a movie. It had been paradise, and she rarely even passed a thought to the sand of time, Sly Cooper, or anything that had happened. It was all over, and life was going on.
Carmelita groaned, slowly opening her eyes. She shivered a bit, pulling up the covers as she looked at her alarm clock, 3:00 A.M. Carmelita slowly rolled out of bed, placing her feet into some black slippers before crossing her room. She squinted her eyes, trying to see the thermostat in the dark. It was set to 75 degrees, just how she left it.
Carmelita shivered again, moving back to her bed, "Must be the furnace acting up again. I can't imagine how cold Mrs. Hoot is. I'll have to go down to the basement have a look at the furnace in the morning."
Carmelita rubbed her shoulders, moving back to her bed. She just about to crawl into the covers of her bed when she heard something. It was a small thump, like someone was knocking on her door. Carmelita sighed, moving over to her bedroom door. She grabbed her bath robe, tying it around her night gowned. She liked the thin black gown, but she would never dream of answering the door in it. Far to revealing for her tastes.
Carmelita walked down her hallway, rubbing her shoulders as it seemed to get colder and colder. "I am talking to George tomorrow. The cheap-stake land lord needs to replace the dilapidated furnace, not just put more duck tape on it."
A knock came at the door again, and Carmelita shouted, "All right, I'm coming."
Carmelita then touched the door knob, gently turning it. The latch on the door clicked, and at the moment the door was forced open. Carmelita fell back, crashing to the ground. Carmelita's slowly sat up, and her eyes fell on the figure in her door way. It was a mass of shadows against the moon light. Most of the body was hidden, but it was easily larger then the door way. Great horns sprouted from its head, and two white points of light replaced real eyes.
Carmelita began to slide back, her heart starting to thump as the creature began to say something. It was strange, and Carmelita couldn't understand a word. She, however, quickly understood the meaning when a long black tentacle shout out of the creature's body and drove into the floor right beside her.
Carmelita scrambled to her feet, ducking into her living room. She reached under her coffee table, pulling out her spare shock pistol. She turned, smiling as she pulled off a few shots at the strange creature. The shots were direct hits, but they might as well have been complete misses. The creature was unaffected by the electrical shock, and just keep coming.
Carmelita grunted, getting back to her feet as she continued to fire off shock pistol blasts. Each one bounced off uselessly as the creature moved forward. A tentacle shot out from the creature. Carmelita yelped, holding her side as she felt blood seeping out. Carmelita knelt down to the floor, glaring up at the creature as it drew closer.
Suddenly, out of no where, a figure clad in black rushed into the room. His clothes seemed to be nothing more then a collection of rags tied together. The only two solid parts of his body was a bone gray mask on his face and the black sword on his back. From behind the mask, two bright blue points of light acted as eyes.
The creature turned roaring at the stranger. The stranger just stood there, stepping completely into the living room. Carmelita was surprised to see the figure holding a bucket. In a quick moment the figure disappeared, reappearing in front of Carmelita before he through the bucket at the dark monster. The monster screamed, the water burning it like acid. In an instant the creature seemed to disappear, turning into a shadow before rushing out of the apartment.
Carmelita looked up at the figure, finding something strangely familiar when the figure just vanished. Carmelita sat for a few seconds, wondering if she was just dreaming when she heard a pair of foot steps. She grunted, grabbing up her shock pistol again as she aimed it at the door way.
A figure appeared in the door way, and quickly jumped back out of view in response to the shock bullet flying at his head, "Wait, Carmelita, its me."
"Keith?" Carmelita said as she lowered her shock pistol. Keith came running in, dropping down to one knee beside Carmelita as he gave his sister a hug.
Behind Keith a second figure walked in, looking around as he asked, "Carmelita's neighbor, Mrs. Hoot, says she didn't see or hear anything. She just slept through it all."
Carmelita's eyes flew open as she looked over Keith's shoulder, "Sly?"
Sly smiled, waving his hand gently, "Hey Carmelita, I got your letter. Oh, and thank you for this lovely little medallion. I would have been happier with a locket, a nice picture of you inside. Still, I'll take what I can get."
Carmelita shook her head, pushing Keith away, "You are never very serious, are you ringtail."
Sly shook his head, and then noticed the small puddle of blood forming on the ground, "Carmelita, your hurt."
Keith bit his lip, "Uhhh…that proves it. The Dahaka was here. He always strikes there first, the best way to weaken his opponent. I have to go get some bandages. Then, we'll try to get back to your hideout. Stay here, and make sure the Dahaka doesn't come back."
Sly nodded, watching Keith leave the room before turning to look at Carmelita. She held her side, slowly trying to stand up. Sly moved over, setting a hand on her shoulder, "Carmelita, you shouldn't be trying to stand."
Carmelita chuckled, pushing away Sly as she stood up, walked over, and took a seat on her couch. Carmelita began to pull of her bath robe, leaving her only her black night gown. Carmelita balled up the robe, pushing it against her side to keep the blood of her couch. Carmelita's eyes drifted up, and she noticed that Sly was staring at her.
"Is there something wrong ringtail?"
Sly shook his head, "Uh…no…I just have never seen you like this."
"Take a picture, it will last longer."
Sly smiled evilly, reaching into his backpack before pulling out his binocucom. Sly held it up to his eyes, gently adjusting the zoom before pressing a button. A flash filled the room, and the binocucom hummed for a second before Sly put it away.
Carmelita raised an eyebrow, glaring at Sly, "What was that cooper?"
Sly smiled, "You said to take a picture, so I did."
"What?" Carmelita yelped, jumping up as she balled her free hand into a fist. She then tipped over, her blood lose making her a black out a bit. Sly caught Carmelita before she could fall, sitting her back down on the couch.
"Carmelita, you have to be careful. We can't have you making that injury of yours worse."
Carmelita sighed, nodding her head, "Yeah, your right. Still, don't get used to this truce ringtail. The second I'm back on my feet, your rear is mine."
Sly smiled, "I wouldn't have it any other way."
The two sat in silence for a few moments before Keith came back, a handful of medical supplies in his hands. Sly moved out of the room, stepping into the kitchen while Keith did his best to bandage Carmelita's wounds. Sly rubbed his head, pulling out his binocucom as he looked at the picture he had taken. If Carmelita was ready to kill him about something like that, it was probably in his best wishes to stay in the kitchen. After all, that injury was pretty high up on Carmelita's side.