Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.
Claimer: I own all of my original characters.
This is the final chapter! I know I've been updating just about every day, and some days twice but after the holidays I wanted to get things with this story finished. So, here's the final chapter. And I can't seem to get past 11 chapters per story but it's better than nothing. Since this one is finished, I'll have to think of some better oneshot ideas since the ones I have posted aren't getting many reviews so I'm not sure if people like them or... Anyway, please read and review!
Chapter 11: Déjà Vu
I laughed while I stirred my cup of coffee. I realized it had been a while since I had a conversation with a person that didn't involve what I was trying to steal. Just having a conversation on random things felt so good after everything that's happened this past year. But, then again, since I was talking with Sly it was about thieving but it didn't revolve around what I was trying to steal. We'd already been sitting at the coffee shop for an hour and from the looks of it, we weren't in any hurry to leave. We'd been random chatting about different heists we've pulled since we were eleven and playing on play grounds. I was also very happy that I only had two more gems to collect, now that I have my safe back, until I can go after Cortex.
"Alright, tell me the strangest heist you've ever had to pull." Sly said after a second plate of scones had been delivered to the table.
"Strangest heist, I've had some strange ones. Well, this again goes back to a crystal, but I would have to say that my strangest heist was when I had to be a burlesque dancer as a distraction. That one was pretty strange." My thought was broken when Sly started laughing.
"Your overly protective brother let you be a burlesque dancer?" I nodded and laughed along with him.
"Can I ask you a personal question?" he asked after our laughing had died down.
"Go ahead." I already had an idea of what he was going to ask.
"Well, you know I met you when we were kids, but other than you father being killed and then living with your mother, I don't really know much about you. Can you give me any other information that you don't mind sharing?"
"Well, all twelve of us were taken by then man who killed our father and he used us as…test subjects. He's a scientist and a really bad one at that. Every experiment he did ended up failing and it did change us both mentally and physically."
"But you didn't change physically. Did you?" I nodded as a response.
"I did but they were mainly little things. I was right handed until that, a chemical imbalance won't let my hair grow past my shoulder blades, go figure," I snorted at the thought of how stupid that sounded, "And only one of my eyes changed color. Only one and now I have an incomplete pair. So, now I'm considered a freak for that, but I don't really care."
"I thought they were always multicolored." His eyebrows furred together.
"Nope, they were blue and now it's green." I lifted my bangs briefly and showed off the odd colored eye. I usually kept it covered with my bangs for that reason.
"And how is that freaky?" I shrugged my shoulders at his question.
"And then, after we were there for a couple of years, we escaped and came back to Paris. I was fourteen of fifteen and we still had my younger siblings with us so we went back to my mothers. By that time she had married the man she'd been dating after she divorced my dad and his rule was, 'if you name is Bandicoot, you are not welcome.' So, the Bandicoots' left, every single one of us. We had no money, no place to live, so we lived on the streets."
"Why didn't you go back to the orphanage? You were young enough."
"My younger brothers and sisters and I could, but by then, Sitka was sixteen and they wouldn't accept a sixteen year old. Trust me, we tried. And we weren't going to leave him homeless so we stayed with him. We lived under the bridge on the west side of Paris and we stayed there for almost two years. My brother did get a job so we had a little bit of money to buy food with. I stayed with my younger siblings to make sure they were alright and wouldn't get hurt or get into trouble. We did have a few things, clothes and such and when we left, we were given the two guitars, cello, and violin that my father had given my mother when they were in high school. So we used those to make a little bit more money to live off of by doing street music."
"And it's wasn't all bad when it was all over. Our thieving skills improved and we were eventually able to steal things to make some money and eventually we could get apartments for ourselves. I moved into the complex that I live in now and paid rent for a few months when I got a letter from the owners. The owners of this building and the one my brother lives in are the Pulaski's, the family we went to the night my father was killed," I couldn't help but smile at that comment, "When they realized we were living in their buildings, we didn't have to pay rent. And we still don't now that the seniors are dead and their children have taken over."
"I'd say that's a pretty good break." I nodded with his comment, "Where did you mother live when you were on the streets?" I pointed down the street to another apartment complex about a mile down the road.
"She lived right over there and did nothing?" he was surprised at my response but it was the truth.
"She still lives there now. I haven't talked to the old bat since she kicked me out." I sipped at my coffee while our conversation started to die down.
"So," he said in an attempt to start up another conversation, "what do you plan to do next?"
"Well, I only have to get two more gems to get before I can go after Cortex. Then after that's done, I'm not really sure what I'll do next. I haven't really thought that through, anything I guess."
"What countries do you get to visit?" he leaned into his chair and waited for my reply.
"I'm leaving in two days and heading to Rio de Janeiro, in Brazil and then I catch a plane to Warsaw, Poland. After that I go back to Australia to complete everything."
"Are you going to stay in Australia or come back to Paris?" I was starting to get the feeling that he didn't want me to stay in Australia but I wasn't sure what I was going to do.
"I don't know. I have a lot of connections here in Paris, but I also have plenty there. And then there's e pull of family, I have more in Sydney then I do here, but I just don't know." He nodded and out conversation was interrupted when my sister came trotting up to our table while holding a piece of paper.
"Listen," Charlotte said as she took a seat at the table, "we have a slight problem."
"Slight problem? What kind of 'slight problem'?"
"Well, I did some calculating, and you're going to need more than just the gems and crystals." I could tell she was nervous and not too happy about the situation.
"More than just the gems and crystals, there's more stuff that I have to get?"
"Yeah, you also have two keys, some more gems, and a few relics to get as well." I snatched the paper from her paws and looked over it.
"There are a hundred and sixty-one items on here! I only have sixty-seven things total."
"I know, but we have all these locations to go to so we can get everything." I looked at the lower end of the list and saw at least sixty some odd locations we now had to go to.
"The keys are needed to get the more rare gems that you need to get and the relics, all ninety of them, will help from him getting an alternate source of power. And there are also these gems shards that you'll need to get as well."
"Oh, that's just peachy." So, my quest wasn't almost over. I now had to go back out and get all of these other things just like I had to do when I had to get the gems. I handed her the list back before letting my head slam against the table and groaning. It also reminded me that the mission I'm on, well, it's complicated.
Now, I need to know if I should make a third story to go along with that one or if I should just make an entire new series with a new idea. Either PM me or leave a review on It's Complicated for your input if you feel like it. Thanks(:
I'm also in need of some new oneshot story ideas so I'm always up for suggestions and if I do use your idea I'll of course give you credit.