Last edited: (08.31.12)

I know I said I wouldn't get the next chapter up any time soon, but I tried my best to update at least one more before school starts for me in about a week, so here we are. There weren't as many headaches for this chapter like the last one, so that's also why you got a faster update this time around, haha. Still a few hiccups here, and there, but regardless it wasn't as bad as the last chapter. Anyway, enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper and friends. They are owned by SuckerPunch. Any characters not recognized, are mine though.


Chapter 12: Spike


"Are you feeling alright, Sly?"

Said raccoon grinned deviously from he position on the couch, and responded, "I think I'd feel better if you gave me a kiss."

To emphasize his point, he waggled his brows suggestively at the vixen.

Carmelita crossed her arms across her chest, and frowned down at the raccoon. Although she wanted to laugh at his eccentricities, she couldn't help but feel somewhat surprised by his laid back attitude at the moment. After all, it had only been two weeks since the warehouse mission. Sly had been released from the hospital not too long after, so the couple was now currently in Sly's apartment. Late afternoon sunlight streamed in through the windows, and they'd also opened them to let in some air. The noise from cars passing by, and birds chirping, along with the general din of pedestrians in the street below, certainly added to the general atmosphere in the apartment. Eyeing the raccoon critically, Carmelita noted that he did look much better than he had a week ago. The multiple injuries that Sly had sustained, from the stitches in his shoulder, and head, all the way to the bruises on his face, meant he wasn't going to be back in action any time soon; which was why Barkley had assigned him to desk work for another week after he went back to work. However, even with his somewhat sluggish actions, the cheeky raccoon's attitude had certainly not suffered, and Carmelita wondered silently if he even remembered what had occurred at the warehouse before.

She shook those thoughts of her head though.

Sighing softly, she leaned down, and placed a quick peck on one of his cheeks. She figured she might as well give him something, considering everything that had happened. Carmelita straightened, and quirked a brow. "Better?"

Chuckling, Sly rubbed lightly at his right shoulder where the bandages wound themselves across it. Sometimes the injury ached when he moved too quickly. The vixen noticed, but she couldn't blame him for sometimes favouring the shoulder, considering he'd had a bullet dug out from there not too long ago.

Another grin pulled at his lips. "I think I need another one."

A pillow was chucked at him, which Sly dodged, laughing at her reaction, and the slightly flustered look on her face. Surprisingly, this was almost exactly how they'd been acting over the course of the months before the robbery at the Musée Guimet that had first led to their strained moments together. Of course, the vixen was still somewhat distant from the raccoon, but Sly figured it was better that they were laughing together now than to have the vixen completely ignore him. Sly could tell there was something bothering her, but he hadn't said a word to pry into what it was she was thinking. He had to hide a grin from her; perhaps things were going to be better between them now.

Carmelita snickered, but silenced herself suddenly, as she realized that even though she was trying to take care of him to the best of her abilities, she still felt somewhat distrusting of the raccoon. But thankfully, he didn't say a word or even seemed to notice her silence, instead opting to yawn widely, and settle himself into a more comfortable position on his couch.

She regarded his relaxed stature, shrewdly. "Why aren't you resting in your room?"

He chuckled softly, and gestured to the TV settled on a table across from them.

"I'd get bored sleeping in my room all the time, you know."

Seeing the logic in it, Carmelita simply nodded, and went into the kitchen to grab a glass of water to give to Sly. It was nearly time he took the medication prescribed to him, and despite still being lost in certain memories, and thoughts, Carmelita was still set on following the schedule.

"Well, I think you should head to bed anyway, because you need to take these pills, and they usually knock you out."

He groaned loudly from the couch, but said nothing else, instead, actually listening to what Carmelita suggested and shuffling to his room. The vixen smiled to herself, as she watched him go into his room, stretching slightly, and yawning. Despite the fact that he was feeling much better now, he still had those moments of being tired; usually his pills were the ones that did that to him.

When she walked into his room, it was to find the raccoon settling into his bed with a wince, once again favouring his right shoulder to get comfortable. She herself, knew that being shot was painful, so she winced in sympathy before striding forward, and handing him the glass of water.

Sly took it with a quick thanks, tossing back the two pills he'd taken from the bottle on the bedside table, and took a deep gulp of water. Once he was done, he set the glass aside, and lay back into his bed to take a nap. Carmelita hovered for a moment, unsure if she should stay and make sure that he was really okay, or leave and let him sleep off the meds. He regarded her with a quirked brow, and heavily lidded eyes.

"Carm? Wha's wrong?" Already, his voice was taking on a slightly slurred tone, the meds obviously already doing their job of knocking him out.

Carmelita sighed softly, and reached a paw forward, running her fingers through the soft, grey fur on his head. There was another curious look on his face, as it appeared as though he was wondering to himself why she was acting this way. Although the two hadn't been fighting as much as they had right after the robbery at the Musée Guimet, it was still strange for the raccoon to see Carmelita be so caring towards him. Regardless, he was rather enjoying the sensation of Carmelita's fingers running through his head fur, as he felt his body begin to sink a little deeper into the mattress. The vixen herself was still debating with herself, but her paw remained where it was, as she watched Sly's eyes flutter closed. Eventually he drifted off into a medication induced sleep, his soft snores echoing in the room.

Another sigh escaped from her, so she stayed where she was at the edge of his bed, watching. The way his fur was mussed all over his cheeks, and the way his ears twitched every once in a while to indicate he was dreaming, had Carmelita wondering why she had distanced herself from him. Sly was certainly handsome (and he knew it too), but it didn't matter to Carmelita. Before her own doubts about the robberies had come into play, the vixen had found herself deeply taken by the raccoon.

He always seemed so sure of himself, and he never missed a beat to compliment her appearance. Of course, she knew that he wasn't all about appearance, and that he loved her for being who she was, despite all of her flaws. Biting her lip, Carmelita stopped her actions, and pulled her paw away from Sly, unsure if she even had the right to continue being loved by him. Sly was always truthful to her, being that whenever he spoke of the vixen, or complimented her, there was a certain sincerity in his brown eyes that had Carmelita's heart skipping a beat.

And regardless of the fact that the two were having a bit of difficulty in their relationship now, what with the vixen pushing Sly away slightly, he never seemed to let it get him down. If anything, he tried even harder to seem like everything was fine between them, which the vixen found herself wondering why she hadn't tried to do the same.

Her paw ran through her hair, her gaze fixed on Sly's slumbering form.

Surely, he hadn't gone back to thieving, and yet every time she tried to tell herself that, nothing else jumped up to change her mind. Her doubts were now starting to cloud her mind, and Carmelita wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it anymore.

She took another look over him, and shook her head, deciding to instead go home and take a nap herself. Taking a moment to stretch, she made her way into the living room, and shut off the TV. Grabbing her coat, and keys from a small tray on Sly's kitchen table, she also scribbled a quick note to let him know that she was going back to her own apartment for a while, and that she'd be back. Once she was sure the door was locked, she left to get her car, and drove back to her apartment, eager to sleep, and escape her thoughts. Things had been stressful lately, and although Sly had been off work to recuperate, he had to be back in the very next day. Carmelita herself had been working for a majority of the time, but Chief Barkley had been kind enough to allow her to take a few days off herself; most of those days had been spent taking care of Sly.

A yawn threatened to escape from her as she drove leisurely towards her apartment, but she managed to stifle it, blinking away the exhaustion she felt. It was getting harder to keep herself awake, even though she was close to her apartment now. When it came into view, she easily drove into her designated parking space, made sure the alarm on her car was set, and made her way to the fifth floor in the apartment building. The route was so familiar, Carmelita barely had to think as she unlocked the door to the apartment, pulled her jacket off to hang, and dropped herself onto the couch. She had absolutely no energy to go all the way to her bedroom.

Another yawn escaped from her, so she grabbed a pillow, got herself comfortable, and began to feel the pulls of sleep on her mind.

Unfortunately for Carmelita, her dreams were no less stressful than her waking moments.


Carmelita felt like her lungs were going to burst with her constant gasping pulls of air. Her legs also felt as though they were on fire along with the muscles all over her body, as the vixen continued to dodge, roll, and dive behind crates in order to avoid the bullets being shot at her. Catching the harsh pants from behind her, along with a few loud gunshots, she knew that Dominic was right behind her, somehow keeping up with her athletic nature. It wasn't uncommon knowledge that Dominic wasn't exactly the fittest of officers at Interpol, but that would change with time as he became more accustomed to his training.

"Inspector!" he suddenly cried, grabbing her arm, just as she was about to dive behind another crate. They were both now very close to the warehouse, and Carmelita's ears flattened against her skull to hear very loud cursing, and shouts from inside.

"What?" she demanded, trying to pull her arm away, but his paw was firm on her upper arm, almost to the point of hurting. "Let me go, Constable Bordeaux! That's an order!"

Dominic's hazel eyes blazed with a determination she had yet to see, as he said one word: "No."

The fur all over Carmelita's body bristled with indignation.

"We have to get into that warehouse, and make sure Inspector Nathans, and Constable Cooper are alright!" she argued, gritting her teeth. The panic from before was completely fuelling her need to get into that warehouse. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, and she was just becoming aware of the stinging cuts all over her body from rolling against the gravel, and from bullets clipping her. Even as the two of them began to argue back and forth, another window shattered from the warehouse, the shouting and gunshots from inside now louder than ever.

"Then let Chief De Luca, and back up get here!" he shouted back to her, sounding equally as angry.

That was enough to make Carmelita's grab Dominic's wrist, and twist it away. He gave a cry of pain, nearly falling to writhe on the ground if Carmelita hadn't grabbed, and held him up.

"If you don't want to come and help me, fine!" she growled, not even heeding the small whimpers of pain Dominic gave, his hazel eyes wide, and fearful. "But you're not going to stop me!"

"Okay, okay!" Dominic cried desperately, trying in vain to make her let go of his twisted wrist. She did so, making him cradle his arm close to his chest. Trying to catch his breath, the canine looked up at her with wide eyes, and said, "y-you're not going to stop, are you?"

Shooting him an incredulous looking, she shouted, "of course not!"

Before he could utter another word of protest, Carmelita was off, sending another bullet rocketing towards a thug who had just ambled out of the shadows. He went down with a yowl of pain, blood spurting from a bullet wound in his abdomen. Carmelita ignored it, and pressed herself into the shadows, stiffening slightly when her ears caught the faint sound of sirens in the distance. Her distress call, and the gunshots had obviously caught De Luca's attention, and they were now getting the back up requested. However, her panic didn't fade in the slightest, and she ran forward again. She needed to see that Sly was okay. Her jaw clenched tightly to the point she felt like her teeth would crack from the pressure, but Carmelita pushed herself off the wall of the warehouse, and rushed forward, trying to find a way inside.

Footsteps caught up with her, so she looked over to see that Dominic had joined her again, this time looking a bit less unsure than before.

"There's a door over there," he pointed out to one that looked as though someone had burst through it. The metal door hung off one hinge, creaking whenever a light breeze pushed it. Even as they watched, a couple more thugs fled from inside, obviously having heard the sirens from outside which were now louder than ever. Carmelita's eyes caught police lights blazing in the distance, getting closer, and closer. Nodding in acknowledgement of his good work, the two of them rushed into the door, dodging behind a couple of crates that had fallen, and burst open, strewing their contents all over the floor. Immediately, the deafening sounds of shouting, gunshots, and people running filled her ears, causing the vixen to flatten them even further against her skull. The scent of blood filled her nostrils, making her feel slightly sick to her stomach. Dominic looked the same way, his face paling, and swallowing hard.

Carmelita whipped her head around to try and spot anything that could point out that Sly, or Liam was around.

"I hope your idea isn't going to get us killed!" Liam's voice overpowered most of the gunshots, and shouting.

She finally spotted the panther with his upper body lying across a crate as his Glock fired off a rapid succession of 12 shots, before he ducked back down for cover to reload. Before he had ducked back behind, Carmelita saw that Liam appeared to be just as battered as herself, and Dominic, with small cuts on his cheeks, and arms. Just as she was starting to panic slightly at where Sly was, she saw another figure dart away from Liam's position, that she quickly deduced was the raccoon himself. However, she wondered why he was running away, until she heard a crash from the large doors to the front.

Whipping her head over, she saw the doors buckling under what she could only assume was their back up trying to storm the place. Shouts and cries of pandemonium from the workers still inside reached their ears, causing the both Carmelita, and Dominic to wince, as the workers began to panic due to the fact that they could very well be thrown into jail right at that point in time. From her vantage point, Carmelita could see that the doors were now starting to give, bubbling outward.

Dominic's face had paled even more, and he shouted over the screaming, and gunshots, "what do we do now?"

"Shoot, you idiot!" she shouted back.

Clicking the hammer back, Carmelita dove out from behind the crates, shooting at whatever target presented itself to her. Blood sprayed from various gunshot wounds, many of the workers and thugs falling to the ground in agony, or some silently. She ignored it all, to continue firing at whoever proved to be lethal.

She caught a figure running towards the stairs, and she went to aim for them, but paused when she recognized the ringed tail.

"Sly!"

However, he either didn't acknowledge her call, or didn't hear her.

Relief to see that he seemed relatively unharmed, with the exception of a dark stain on his shoulder, and his missing bulletproof vest, coursed through her veins, but her attention was brought back when there was a loud crash from behind. Looking back, she saw that their back up had finally burst through the doors, as groups of officers in full riot gear stormed the warehouse. The shooters all went down in a flurry of shouts, and gunshots, their bullets bouncing harmlessly off the riot shields the officers all bore. From just behind those officers, Carmelita spotted De Luca come forward, shooting down anyone that happened to try and get in his way, as he stormed the area, brown eyes sweeping everything.

She knew that their back up would be able to handle the chaos, so she ran forward to where Sly was still running up the stairs to an office Carmelita hadn't noticed before. It was there that she realized that a tall wolverine - Yorath to be exact - was fleeing the scene. Anger at the thought that all of this would be for naught if Yorath escaped, pumped more adrenaline into her body, causing Carmelita to rush forward and follow Sly up the stairs.

Sly's pistol was in paw, and he paused at the top of the stairs, to try and possibly scare Yorath into stopping with a bullet, when a lion that neither herself, nor Sly had noticed appeared, and tackled Sly around the middle. The raccoon let out a shout of surprise, the two of them tumbling down the stairs in a tangle of limbs, and fur.

Carmelita neared to hear Sly cry out painfully, when his head cracked heavily against a crate, his body going slightly limp. The lion took the opportunity to straddle Sly's chest, and rain punches down on the raccoon, who was too disoriented from the hit in the head to defend himself. Blood burst from Sly's nose, who groaned loudly, and tried his best to lessen the damage on his body. A sudden flurry of panic, and anger made Carmelita ignore everything else, and aim her Glock directly at the lion's back. There was a loud bang, and the lion let out a loud yowl of pain, and fell onto his side beside Sly, writhing in pain; the bullet had penetrated right into one of his shoulder blades.

Rushing forward, she struck the lion in the head to shut him up, and kneeled next to Sly. He inhaled sharply as she helped him sit up. Warm blood leaked onto her fingers, and when she pressed her paw against the back of his head, he tensed up, moaning in pain.

"Sorry," she gasped out. The gunshots from before had begun to lessen now, leaving an odd ringing in her ears, and she was aware of a few officers making their way towards her position. But she ignored it all, easing her shaking fingers to the bleeding wounds on Sly. The raccoon tried his best to sit up under his own power, but his eyes were fluttering slightly, blood leaking from his nose, and head. Everything else went ignored by the vixen, as the panic once more settled into her very bones, making her body shake, and tears well in her eyes.

Sly looked up at her, and tried to give her a reassuring smile, but it came off as more of a grimace.

"I'm… fine," he murmured softly, sounding sluggish, and tired. Footsteps caused her to look up, and she saw Liam was running forward, worry knitting his brows together. "Come on, l-let's… go get ready to get Y-Yorath."

She looked down at him again, and shook her head. Somehow, although she knew that he might not die from the wounds, the fact that her fears of him being hurt to the point that he was starting to loose consciousness, was making Carmelita feel lost, and angry at herself. She couldn't believe how she'd been acting towards Sly over the past few months, and she wanted to kick herself for being so stupid.

"Y-you're not okay, Ringtail," she stammered, his old pet name coming out before she could stop it.

A tired looking grin crossed his features, as his eyes slide shut. "I've really… missed that nickname…"

Carmelita sucked in a sharp breath. Numbness crossed through her body, feeling as though the rug had been pulled out from under her. She looked down at him, stunned at what he had just said, but he had already lose consciousness, and his body became limp in hers. Liam was now at her side, trying to pry her arms away from his body, and somehow throughout all the chaos she let Sly go. More officers surrounded her, checking to see if she was okay, and to arrest the unconscious lion beside her.

She was unaware of it all, as Sly's last words echoed in her head, over, and over again.

I've really missed that nickname…


Vibrations all across her back caused Carmelita to start awake suddenly, a shrill ringing sound making its way into her ears. A yelp of shock escaped her muzzle, as she sat up on her couch, disoriented and panicked. Her apartment was dark, a clear sign that she had slept most of the late afternoon away, and a quick glance at her clock told her it was nearly 1 AM. Her paws ran through her tangled mass of curls shakily, as she tried to calm her breathing down, feeling as though she were still somehow in the dream she'd just had. Well, it was more like a memory. Sly's words were still echoing in her ears, and she let out a shaky breath, burying her face into her paws.

Her phone continued to vibrate and ring, so unable to ignore it, she dug into her pockets for it. She frowned when she saw a number she didn't recognize on the display.

Despite that, she flipped it open and pressed it to her ear. "Hello?"

"I-Inspector Fox!" came a panicked, and breathless voice. She instantly recognized the voice, her ears flying upwards in surprise.

"Dom- I mean, Constable Bordeaux? How did you get my number?" She sighed softly, rubbing at her eyes to get rid of the grit there. Her body still felt drained, and she was debating on hanging up on the dingo, considering that Dominic liked to talk people's ears off.

"That doesn't matter!" he squeaked slightly. A frown adorned Carmelita's features, as she began to realize that the younger man appeared to be frightened of… something. A loud bang, followed by a yelp of pain had the vixen leaping to her feet.

"Constable!"

"Sorry," Dominic answered soon enough, breathing harshly, and holding back what sounded like a pained tone. "I-I tripped on a trash can. B-but Inspector, I called because I need your help! I was out on patrol at the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, just minding my own business, and thinking maybe I should go, and get some food, and how cold it is inside, and-"

"Dominic!" Carmelita barked into her phone, this time rushing over to where she hung her holster, and shock pistol, shrugging into her jacket. Something told her she was going to need her shock pistol right now. "Focus!"

"Sorry," he apologized again. "A-anyway, someone tripped an alarm at the museum! I'm trying to follow now, b-but I can't catch up!" There was a pause, as Dominic appeared to be trying to catch his breath again. "They're really fast whoever it is!"

At this point in time, Carmelita was barrelling out her door, locking it quickly behind herself, and leaping down the stairs two at a time. Her heart was thumping wildly in her chest, as she tried to tell herself this was all just a major coincidence. There was no way something like this could be happening at this point in time. Not now. Not after nearly 2 months of silence.

Please, don't be what I think it is.

"Are you still there?" she demanded, reaching her car now, and nearly ripping the door handle off to get inside. The engine to her car rumbled to life, and she was pealing out of her parking spot in a haze of smoking tires and exhaust, ignoring some of the mortified looks she received from several pedestrians on the streets.

Dominic stopped speaking, which was followed by a loud bang from his shock pistol. "Y-yeah! I'm trying to keep them busy so they don't escape! The museum is at 11, Avenue du Président Wilson, y-you know where it is, right?"

"Of course I know where it is!" Carmelita shouted angrily, cranking the wheel of her car roughly so that she changed course suddenly. Screeching horns fell on deaf ears, as Carmelita pressed her foot further on the pedal, trying to get there before said thief managed to escape from Dominic. "I'll be there as soon as I can, and make sure that criminal doesn't escape!"

She ended the call abruptly, throwing her phone into the seat beside her. Somehow, she felt nervous, and scared about what she was going to find at the museum. The fact that she was now getting a call, from a Constable who was just on a routine patrol about a robbery, had Carmelita scared beyond belief. Could this be another one of those robberies where Sly might be involved?

A small voice told her to call him now, and check that he was still at his apartment, but she stopped herself from doing so. No, Carmelita wanted to see with her own eyes before she told anyone else about this. The only times she'd ever known about these robberies was the day before, when Chief Barkley, or Commissioner Arks called her to inform her of them. That, and she was too terrified to call Sly. What would she do if he wasn't home?

Her paws tightened on the wheel of her car, the gloves she wore creaking. Anger was now starting to cloud much of her judgement, and the questions that were currently running through her head. Despite the speed she was currently driving at, it still took her about 15 minutes until she reached the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris, where she counted down those minutes herself, panicking more and more. When she arrived, she was jumping out of her car, barely even remembering to shut the door behind herself.

Dominic was waiting for her outside, still panting from his hard run. He rushed forward to say something, when Carmelita grabbed Dominic by the lapel of his jacket, bringing him forward so they were nearly nose, to nose.

"Where's the thief?" the vixen demanded. The canine gasped, his hazel eyes widening in fear at being handled so roughly by a superior.

"I-I didn't lose him! T-the thief is o-on the roof now! I was just on m-my way there now!" he stammered uneasily. Lifting his paws up as though trying to show that he wasn't going to try anything, it did nothing to placate Carmelita's anger. When her eyes narrowed dangerously, Dominic squeaked pathetically. "Please, Inspector Fox! I swear I-I'm not lying!"

Growling angrily, Carmelita let him go, Dominic stumbling away from her. He looked up to see that she had taken her shock pistol out, the low hum from it making his ears flatten slightly.

"I-Inspector?"

"Call Interpol, now," she barked, turning away from him. "I have a criminal to catch."

Before he could utter a single word of protest, Carmelita rushed forward, keeping her eyes trained on the rooftop of the Musée d'Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris. She ignored the large pool set right in the middle of the grounds, where the water shimmered brightly in the light from the lampposts outside. It would have normally been serene, had Carmelita not been a woman on a mission at that moment. The almost Greek inspired building, with large stone columns, stone murals carved into the sides of the building, and stairways leading to an empty café upstairs, all went ignored by her. Frustration began to bubble to the surface, as she realized that she could not see a thing, and the only way she would have been able to make her way up to the roof, would have been to either get inside the actual museum, or climb up the sheer walls.

Just as she was about to rush inside, a shadowed figure running across the edge of the roof caught her eye, and she looked up to see a rather lithe looking figure, with a large bushy tail waving behind them. What looked like a rolled up canvas was tucker under their arm. The figure seemed to notice Carmelita, and looked down at her, pausing mid stride.

For a moment, both of them stood where they were, the figure scrutinizing Carmelita, while Carmelita herself watched every move it made. The moon behind it hid many details from view, with only its silhouetted body shape the only real thing the vixen could discern. She figured it was male, from its broad looking shoulders, and rather thin waist. She also noted the way the figure's bushy tail swished back and forth in the chill wind, and the perked up ears on the side of its head. What also looked like a cap was nestled neatly atop of its head, and even as she watched, the figure took off the cap to wipe its forehead, which gave Carmelita view of tousled head fur on top.

Finally, the figure made a move to flee, causing Carmelita to tense and shout, "freeze!"

However, instead of fleeing, the figure threw something down at her.

Surprise stopped the vixen from pressing the trigger, as she watched a small piece of what seemed to be paper flutter downwards, dancing in the wind. She watched its descent, until it landed neatly at her feet.

Carmelita's lungs seemed to freeze over, making her unable to breathe, as she stared down at the one thing she didn't want to ever see again in her life. The blue, and white raccoon head mocked her from its perch on the ground, where she numbly picked it up in shaking fingers. She could barely breathe now, as the entire world seemed to tilt on its axis, to the point that she reached a paw out, and caught herself on the wall of the museum. Her eyes were focused solely on the calling card, fingers shaking, and breath short.

She looked up again, trying to breathe through her shock, and sheer anger, and saw that the figure was still watching.

At this point, something snapped inside the vixen, and she crumpled the calling card in paw, stuffing it mindlessly into her pocket. Her shock pistol blared to life, and she shouted at the figure atop the building.

"COOPER!"

A chuckle came from the figure, propelling Carmelita into shooting her pistol without a second thought, followed by her chasing from the ground when the thief leapt from his position, and landed on another section of roof. Panting from the emotional upheaval, Carmelita gave chase, shooting wildly to try, and get the criminal to stop. Each time she shot, he flipped into the air, landing easily on small points, on ledges, and even on power lines as he continued to run from Carmelita. Not a single shot came close to hitting the thief, even with her pinpoint accuracy. Carmelita was a pretty good shot with her firearms, but all of her shots always seemed to miss by a hairs breadth on the thief's tail, or feet. Carmelita was once again brought back to those old days, where she would be chasing desperately after Sly, until her lungs burned, and her legs gave out from under her.

Finally, at one point in the chase, she was able to find a low enough building where she could use the ledges of the balconies to her advantage, and get onto the rooftops. Her legs barely felt the strain of her running, and of her jumping, her sights focused solely on the ringed tail running from her. Her thoughts were a whirlwind. The anger from before was now starting to trickle into doubt.

It couldn't be Cooper.

Sly was currently at home, healing from his wounds, and there was no way he could be moving this smoothly, right? However, even as she continued on her chase, Carmelita's eyes widened to see that the figure up ahead seemed to be favouring his right shoulder, leaping in ways that lessened the strain on it. Now watching the figure critically, even she had to admit that he moved exactly how she remembered Sly to move during their chases. From the way the figure leaped, to the way it spun every time it landed on a point, or power line was exactly as Sly used to do. It was too perfect not to be him. And the one thing that made her heart wrench every time she saw it flash, was that cane.

That damnable cane.

"FREEZE, CRIMINAL!" she bellowed at the running figure. The figure looked back her, and she could swear she saw a glint of a smirk.

His smirk.

Carmelita's jaw clenched tightly. Her shock pistol fixed onto the fleeing figure's back, and her finger was just about to press on the trigger, when something stopped her.

"Catch me if you can, Carm!" sang Sly's voice from the figure.

Immediately, Carmelita froze where she was, her shock pistol still poised to strike. That was it. There was no way she could dissuade her own doubts. Sly really had gone back to thieving behind her back. Tears began to blur her vision, and once more her shot missed, this time by at least a metre.

Sly chuckled from his position atop a TV antennae. He flashed a grin at her. "Oh, Carm, when will you ever learn you can't hit me with your horrible aim?"

She dashed forward, this time ignoring the fact that she had a perfect shot to make him stop. All of her focus went into her rage, to her need to throttle the raccoon right then and there for lying to her face for all these months, and for going behind her back and stealing. But before she could even get close, Sly laughed heartily again, back flipping from the antennae, and off the edge of the building to the ground below. Just as Carmelita reached the edge, and looked down, she saw nothing. The streets were completely empty.

There was no sign of Cooper at all, and even as she strained to see, she couldn't see a single trace of where he could have gone.

Of course, this did nothing to exhaust her rage. If anything, it caused it to become even worse, as one thing came to mind for the vixen.

He went back home.


"-oday in entertainment news, Harry L-"

"We'll be right back afte-"

"-just add a pinch of salt, and before you kno-"

Sly sighed, shutting the TV off. There was nothing on that interested him, and although it was late, his nap from before had completely thrown off his sleep schedule. He was now wide awake, and although he knew he had to be in at work again in the morning, he felt no urge to make himself sleep. Stealing a look at his clock, he saw it was nearly 2 in the morning, causing the raccoon to groan. He also reminded himself of the note that Carmelita had left for him, and wondered why she hadn't yet returned as her note had promised.

Maybe she's taking the night off, to get some sleep.

Stretching, he stood, and winced when the stitches on his shoulder pulled. He rolled his bad shoulder as he walked into the kitchen to get some sort of snack before he forced himself to sleep again. A quick search of his fridge found him pulling out a small container of jell-o that Carmelita had brought him a few days ago, and half a sandwich that was leftover from before. With his snack all set to go, Sly went to sit himself on the couch again to try and find something to watch, when loud knocking came from his door.

He started, his brows raising at the idea that someone was visiting so late, but he realized it could just be Carmelita coming back from her apartment. However, the way the door shuddered in its place, it sounded more like someone was trying to break his door in. Light murmurs from outside, told Sly that tenants from the apartments beside him had gone out of their own apartments to investigate the noise.

As he neared the door, he heard someone scream, and he realized then that it was Carmelita. Footsteps immediately retreated, and his sensitive hearing caught the muffled sounds of doors slamming shut. Without hesitation, he opened the door to his apartment, feeling somewhat fearful about what could have Carmelita so riled up.

Did something happen while he was asleep? Was she okay?

He opened the door widely, fully expecting for Carmelita to burst into his apartment in a wild panic. What he hadn't expected, was to find a furious looking vixen, panting harshly, and eyes blazing with anger.

Carmelita's shock pistol whirred to life, a wash of blue now focusing over Sly's chest. He could literally feel the heat from the pistol, a clear sign that it was on the highest setting possible. His eyes widened significantly, as the raccoon stepped back slightly. She followed his every step, the two now fully inside his apartment.

She kicked the door shut, the loud slam reverberating in the small apartment.

"Carm, what are you-"

"You're under arrest, criminal!" Carmelita snarled, her fur bristling. Her paws shook slightly on the shock pistol she kept levelled towards Sly's chest, hovering right over his heart. "I can't believe you lied to me!"

Oh hell, this is not good…


Well, there we are. I know I say this a lot, but I really hope this wasn't boring for you guys, haha. Like I said before, this story is now going to pick up speed from here on out. So hold onto your hats, and keep your arms and hands inside the vehicle at all times, because this is going to get rough. Is this a hint for what's to come?

Certainly not.