A/N: I decided to try and tie a lot of stuff together and answer a few questions in this chapter. All the explosions and action will happen NEXT chapter. Also, I've decided it's time to give the gang a NEW vehicle (method of transportation) in this chapter. Wait until you see what Carmelita spent Sly's money on... hehe. Maybe she IS high maintenance, after all!

-Kit

Chapter -14-
"A Change in the Wind"

The vixen drew back a tuft of rusty fur below her elbow. She nodded to the mark on her left forearm and said, "I got that from Clockwerk, when he attacked Panama Canal, almost two months ago." Then she reached her gloved paws to the top of her blouse, unbuttoned the top fastening and showed them a mark beneath her right shoulder. "That one came from Muggshot but was …revisited while in the bank, here in Prague. Not to mention this one," she added. Carmelita brought her fingertips to her hip then froze. Her ears flickered and her eyes lifted. She gazed beyond Bentley, Penelope and Murray, quirking her brows at Sly Cooper.

Sly offered the group a wave. "You four are never going to believe who I ran into," he said then shut the front door behind himself. "And yes, I know it took longer than expected, but I've recruited some help. I told him to wait outside – he's one of those Shadow Cult guys; an apprentice to Donovan Loupe." He stopped, glanced at each of his friends then said, "What did I miss?"

Murray glanced over his shoulder. "We're showing off our best and coolest battle scars! It's freakin' cool! So what happened at that place?"

"Long story short," said Sly, "I met someone who is older than anyone I've ever known… who isn't a supernatural. He knew a family member, 'Silver' Cooper, and ran with him as a sidekick. And get this, he was born in the eighteen hundreds. His home is a veritable museum. Anyhow, while I was there, I…" He paused with a frown and pushed his paws into his pants pocket. "I just realized that, by telling you guys, Carmelita is going to take this information very poorly."

She stood up and placed her paws on her hips. The fox's tail flitted behind her rump aggressively. "Spit… it… out, Cooper."

"There's a, uh…" He broke into a nervous chuckle. "Price on my head, y'see? And this assassin tried to cash in but he and the old guy helped me to stop this lady from killing me."

Carmelita tilted her head. Her soft blue bangs flopped down over her eyes. She lifted her chin somewhat then said, "Is that so?" The eerie calm in her voice, the calm before the storm, caused the entire gang to look back at her. She then licked her lips, flipped her paw up to brush away her headfur and cleared her throat. "Ahem." Inspector Fox stepped between Bentley and Penelope, approaching her fiancé. "Sly," she said and placed a paw on his shoulder.

"Yes, honey?"

Her paw slid towards his neck until her entire arm now rested around his shoulders. She guided him towards the backdoor of the safe house and into an alleyway. She shut the door behind herself then shouted, "Why the HELL is there a PRICE on your HEAD?" She froze and jerked her arm away from him. Carmelita brought both of her paws to his face and forced his head to the side. "What the… What happened to your ear? It looks like you got snagged on barbed wire!"

Sly gawked at her. "Please! I'm not that clumsy! It's where I was clipped by a bullet."

Carmelita's eyes widened. In a sarcastic tone, she exclaimed, "Oh, no, a bullet is much better than razor wire." She turned away from him and ran her paws up over her face with a sigh. "I take back everything I ever said about you being a housebroken man, two months ago. You're a sinking ship, Sly Cooper. What else did you learn?"

"My cane wasn't destroyed," he said, adding, "And the bad guys have it. They're going to use it as the key to the vault because they know the tenth artifact is there. Do you still have the first four artifacts hidden?"

"The Topaz block is in one safe deposit box at one bank. The golden coin is at another safe deposit box at another bank in another country. The scarab…"

"Locust," interrupted Cooper.

Carmelita turned back towards him and continued. "…Locust… is in a private vault, temporarily held by the Louvre, and Johanna's pearls are in a small safe at the Vatican.

"Why there? They couldn't even maintain possession of the spearhead. That thing wound up south of Cuba, halfway across the globe under the Vatican's watch."

Carmelita nodded. "…Once they found out the pearls belonged to Pope John the Eighth, they were only too happy to take them. My only condition to them was that they made no mention. You and I are the only ones, aside from the Pope, some Archbishop and his aid, who know it's there."

"Fair enough," Sly replied. "But these guys have a huge head start on all the other pieces. Not only that, they're about to obtain the one that was the most well hidden of them all. We should ditch Prague and head to Kaine Island and set up an ambush."

"I agree," said Carmelita, much to his surprise. She frowned then told him, "So stop worrying, Cooper. Anyhow, Bentley and I were talking about that Hate Chip. We started combining stories and realized his chip may still be inside of that metal freak. He surmises that someone may have tampered with it to make the chip not work as planned. As much as the boys want to use those pearls and level Clockwerk and his entire volcano, I'd rather keep that as a last resort. Let's find Clockwerk's body before heading to Kaine Island. I want to sabotage his components then give him his body. Let a computer virus take him down. Bentley is convinced that will work very well."

Sly leaned against a brick wall and frowned. His eyes dropped to the ground, almost glaring at the asphalt. A clump of dirty snow, all that remained from their last visit, lined the wall. He dug the toe of his foot into it with a sigh.

"What?"

His gaze lifted then dropped again. He rolled his shoulders forward, offering a subtle shrug. "If he disables Clockwerk that way, we might beat the dang thing… but then we have a huge metal body, empty and waiting for the bad guys to grab."

"Wouldn't he just destroy himself?"

"That's just it," he explained. "Yes and no! He'd not be able to disintegrate, Carmelita. He's physically designed to last forever. He'd just… die - no more Artifical Intelligence; he's just memories on a hard drive and a lot of wires. Heck, we could even reprogram him to be our best friend - it's not my old nemesis, just a digital duplication with updated hardware. As soon as he shuts down, the body would be put into use by the bad guys. At this point, I would rather keep Clockwerk running around in circles because no one can obtain his body this way. But there's one little problem: They already have obtained his body. If we give it back to him, we have to deal with him, but it keeps them from re-obtaining the framework again. After all, if he's such a super computer, able to learn things, I doubt he'd let himself be duped a second time."

She shook her head and placed her palm on his forearm. "Sly, they've already caught him in the past. He's some 'perfect Artificial Intelligence', and yet they captured him and stripped him out of his body and put him onto the hard drive of another. These guys handled Clockwerk like a child's toy. Whoever these people are, they're dangerous. Perhaps we should find this body and sabotage it further."

"Like how?"

The Inspector threw her paws outwards. "I say we just launch the damn thing into the sun. Whether it melts or not, no one is going to go and retrieve it."

"I can't exactly float the funds to a Space Administration until we get back into the vault with my cane," suggested the raccoon.

"Don't sound so damn dejected," she replied. "And what of this Shadow Cult Apprentice guy? Do you even trust him?"

"He's the one who shot my ear," Sly said, adding, "in order to put a bullet through the assassin, behind me." He fidgeted for a moment then offered her a smile. "I'm serious, Carmelita. This lady was the real deal stealth assassin. I have no idea what's going on yet. All I know is that if we're going after Clockwerk's stupid body, they're going to get into the vault. If we go to Kaine Island, then Clockwerk might find his body first and we will miss the chance to sabotage it."

"Then it's settled," she replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "We split up. You and I will take off for the South Pacific. The other half of the team should remain here and destroy Clockwerk's body. Have your demolitions friend show up – the one that used to be a Chinese assassin and arsonist."

"…You mean Panda King." Sly nodded slowly then offered her a soft smile. "I'll contact him. But you and I will need some measure of backup. We should take a third person with us."

"Sly, who keeps them from getting killed?"

"Usually I do," he told her.

Carmelita nodded with a roll of her eyes. "If this Shadow Cult guy saved your life or whatnot, then have him stay here with the gang. If he risked life and limb for you, you'll feel safe knowing he's doing the same for your friends. Also, if people watching the Cooper Gang see that the group's presence is still in Prague, you'll have a better chance of surprising whoever took your cane when we get to Kaine Island. Whoever named that island didn't have much of an imagination, did they?"

Cooper shrugged with a chuckle. "We're thieves, not poets." He placed his paws into his pockets to keep them warm. "And I'm positively sure you know Panda King's rap-sheet and name. After all, you were almost married to his nemesis – remember?"

She lifted her left paw at shoulder height and looked away. "Yeah; guilty as charged – I just hate knowing every little detail about your life, sometimes. If we're going to have a relationship, I have to pretend like everything is fresh and... you know, I don't want to be in the mentality of, 'gee, I'm dating a criminal - how sad am I?' if you know what I mean. Like I said, sometimes I hate knowing every little detail about your life. That's a trait of stalkers and ex-wives. Look, we've got to catch whoever has your cane – an ambush is the way to do it. We've got to go and do a stakeout on that island."

He lifted his toe from the dirty snow pile then kicked the remains from his shoe. "What makes you think they're going there so soon? I mean, from what I understand, it was only just flown in to Prague – it's here right now. Shouldn't we just try and find it while we're here?"

"Can't you just trust me for once?" she asked. The transition from concern to a rude tone reminded the raccoon that his fiancé hasn't changed in the many years he's known her. She spread her furry fingertips, displaying his ring then lowered her paw and told him, "Bentley said he made a backdoor emergency entrance so that you can access the vault before they arrive. I say we hide that silly artifact. That'll be five pieces in our possession, each hidden from the bad guys. We know they've reacquired the Spearhead by re-stealing it from the CIA, the other day. The question is, do they have number six through nine? My seventh sense is telling me we should hurry. Personally, I'm leery of one thing."

Sly tilted his head with a slight grin. He knew she had a powerful woman's intuition - her sixth sense. But he also knew she had a strong 'cop sense', her seventh perceptive ability. "Boy, Carmelita," Cooper mused. "You're really on top of things. I wasn't sure whether or not you knew that the Longinus spear was already stolen from the CIA… Anyhow, what is it that you're so leery about, hon?"

"This is going to sound a little odd," she began. Her eyes lowered to the ground and she turned to face the brick wall, behind the building. "I don't trust Bentley and Penelope."

"Pardon?" Cooper tilted his head.

"They rebuilt that vault," she said then drew in a deep breath. "And you've not visited it since they redesigned it. Those freaks working for Sire were somehow privileged to knowledge that very few have access to. I mean, they knew about the ten artifacts, they knew you had the tenth and attacked the Cooper family for generations just to re-obtain it… but why didn't they just abduct Bentley and Penelope? Why didn't they attack your friends while they were rebuilding the vault? Why didn't they sneak in while you were fighting Moreau , after you opened the front door? Sire's gang had members capable of teleportation, for goodness sake. Chintzy claimed she couldn't attack things or take things unless she could physically see it, but then she teleports a small missile through a wall and hits Murray's van… he told me all about it and how upset he was that she gloated about it… but how did she instantly know she hit his van, while standing before them? Maybe she lied about her abilities – who can say? Either way, the bad guys claimed to go after you in order to obtain entry to that vault. They should have known that Bentley and Penelope were the real gatekeepers, as they seemed to have known everything else - such as the contents. Then again, Bentley has a time machine – does he know something about the future that he can't tell us yet? I just… I really have this gut feeling that those two know something that we don't."

Sly wanted desperately to defend his friends. He opened his muzzle to argue but nothing came to mind. After a moment of silence, he asked, "You're sure they have a backdoor way in, without needing the cane?"

"I'm positive," Carmelita replied. "Bentley told me that it might be their only way back into the vault if the group needed emergency funding before we recover the cane. He said the only two people who could access this backup entrance… are you and your father. That leaves me to believe it's something handed down to you from Conner Cooper."

Sly's muzzle contorted into a moue of disgust. "That's the second time, today, I've heard my father's first name." He withdrew his paws from his pockets and rubbed his cheeks. "Listen, if he and I are the only two who can get in, then that means Bentley's emergency access method involves laser sliding." He paused then cocked his head in her direction. "...Frankly, how in the heck did you get to the staging area when I was fighting that lunatic? You would have had to walk on a laser beam to get there and you didn't have a flying contraption like Doc Moreau . What's your secret – I mean, that technically means you might be able to access the vault, too."

Carmelita offered a casual grin. "I went through the ventilation, out onto a catwalk outside of the staging room, and in through a window at the top. Believe me, if there was another way into the vault, that Doctor Moron would have found it after all of those years."

"That makes sense," he replied with a nod. "I mean, before dad came along and made a laser rail method of travel, the rest of the Coopers had to have some way to get into the Inner Sanctum. Another thing, Carmelita... I don't think we should be distrusting towards Bentley or Penelope in any way, shape or form. Our bond of friendship is what got us through the ordeal with Doctor Moreau. I trusted those guys with the key to the front door – they would have betrayed me when they had the cane if that was their intent."

"But…"

"Carmelita, you're inability to trust is… y'know, it's not a good thing."

She nodded and glanced at her boots. "It's not one of my finer qualities, I agree…" She glanced back up and asked, "Do you ever have nightmares?"

Sly tilted his head. "I, uh… well, yeah sometimes. I had one a few days ago – I remember when I saw you thrown through the window of the bank… I thought you were dead. When I parasailed down to the alley… I saw you, motionless, on a crumpled recycling dumpster lid. Just a few feet away, on the ground, I saw Karla's head. It was like she was glaring up at me – that gave me the chills and it's an image I won't soon forget, either."

She nodded in silence and frowned again. "I once had a dream about Doctor M. Maybe it's because he's a mandrill, but in my dream, he looked like Burt Lancaster." She glanced up, trying to make light of their conversation with a thin smile. "I arrested him for splicing the genes of various creatures – a violation of natural wildlife acts imposed by the United Nations…"

"Was it a nightmare?" asked Sly, equally half-amused.

"It sure was," she muttered, adding, "You got away scot-free in that dream. I woke up angry."

Cooper returned with a brilliant smile. "You're the cutest. Okay, we'll try your game plan. You're talking about giving my family rival over to my friends – Clockwerk and I have very personal business but… I'll do it your way."

"It's a different Clockwerk than the one you've put to sleep in the past," she said, reminding him of his own counter-argument from only a few minutes ago.

"No." Sly shook his head and folded his arms to keep warm. "I'm mad at that one, too. I swore to avenge my family by being the one to take out that 'Sire' guy. Clockwerk killed Sire and robbed me of my right for vengeance. Go figure – Clockwerk started out as a thief rival when he was still a mortal man. Now I have a score to settle with him… or, rather… it."

"You'll get your chance," Carmelita promised him. "The guys are going after the frame made by that skunk guy, Steven… Niall – whatever his name was. With Clockwerk in that little body, you still have a chance to fight him and actually make a difference. Have patience."

"I won't last very long unless I find a way to destroy that stupid laser-thing he has."

"Sly, have you seen the news footage of you attacking him after you jumped out of that airliner? Someone actually taped shaky, grainy footage on their camcorder from that flight… footage of you fighting Clockwerk after you jumped – like an idiot, I might add."

Cooper's eyes widened. "Really? It was on the news?"

"Yes." She opened the back door and gestured for him to go inside. Once they were both back in the warm building, she continued speaking. "You made him nearly lose control – the media speculated that you somehow pulled wires from an access panel under his head. The military is undoubtedly analyzing that footage to find his weakness – your stupid stunt is all over the internet, too."

"Why didn't I know about this?" he asked. The two walked through the back of the small building and into the front room with the rest of the gang. "I clawed at anything I could. Wires, circuitry, you name it."

She lifted her right paw, using it to punctuate her words. "And my point is: you couldn't have done that to the other body. So long as he's in this current one, you'll defeat him. There is no way he can fight whatever takes over his other, larger body. He already knows it's unstoppable and he's probably kicking himself for being duped, captured and electronically transferred."

"Uhm, he wouldn't be kicking himself." Bentley cleared his throat, watching both return. "Neither body supports emotional feedback responses. The one built by Steven could support a Hate Chip, but as we all know, that chip is just a co-processor and wasn't installed, or he'd be raving mad and would have killed Sly back in Paris yesterday. I want to find that body before he does, so I can rig it to destroy itself… then we'll hand it over to Clockwerk and let him do himself the honors."

"I hope it's that easy," said Sly. "Listen, guys… Carmelita and I have decided to go to Kaine Island. We need to grab that tenth artifact before my cane is used to open the vault. It's true, my cane is floating around Prague right now, but… we all know that the bad guys have been using this city to hide out. Carmelita thinks they'll head there next and use the cane to get in…"

"Yes," agreed the turtle with a firm nod. "That makes sense. Prague is their staging area but we all know they've been able to hit all the corners of the globe to possess each of these artifacts; they're a mobile and travel-ready group. I'll explain our backdoor entry so you can stake out the vault and wait on the inside, at the entrance, to ambush these thugs and get your cane back."

"Actually, I have a different idea," said Cooper. "I'll sneak into the vault, take the artifact, then have Carmelita hide it. I'll head outside and wait near the entrance… then take my cane back, before they can use it to get inside. Then Carmelita and I will return and help you guys finish off Clockwerk. When the dust settles, we'll hide or destroy all of these artifacts. Whoever is left standing, I'll tackle them next."

Bentley adjusted his glasses, sneezed, then re-adjusted his glasses. "If we could re-capture Clockwerk, the way he was caught by whoever switched him out of his body, then I could reprogram him. He's a computer. All I would need to do is write a code of commands to make him docile. In the end, I could make him on our side."

Sly shook his head in disagreement. "And then someone else could program him back to their side. I'm not taking that chance. Let's just open him up, drive a nail through his hard drive, then melt him down into a really big shoehorn for Murray's sneakers."

"I'm down with that!" said Murray, adding, "We could melt him down then make a new van out of him!"

"It was a figure of speech, big guy. We still have to dismantle the frame made by Steven," Sly told them. "I understand that shell can't literally be melted down. But even if we take him apart at the seams, someone could just reconstruct the parts. So," he turned to Bentley and placed his paws on his hips. "It'll be up to you… I want to take the jumble of metal panels, once we strip it down, and y'know what I want to do? I want to send those things straight into the sun." He cut his gaze to Carmelita and offered her a slight grin. "That's right, guys… I want to put those parts where no one else can get them. Then I'll be a lot happier. Anyways, Carmelita suggests that I should leave Donovan's trainee with you guys for protection. We're going to the vault and will return as soon as we hide that stupid diamond. I'm not sure if my cane will arrive there, but if Carmelita's hunch is right, I should have it when I come back."

"I sure hope so," said Bentley. "That guy has been standing outside in the cold for quite some time now. Let him in, so we can talk to him. I don't know if I trust him yet… I suppose I can if he helped you out. I'm just trying to be over-careful. Oh, and one more thing…"

"Yeah?" Sly walked over to a workbench and picked up a small rucksack with a change of clothes in it. He turned back to Carmelita and nodded, ready to go.

"Panda should be here, soon," replied the turtle. "He's leaving his daughter in China, though. He feels it's going to be far too dangerous for her to get involved. I don't blame him."

"Me either," said Cooper, adding, "You must be psychic, Bentley. Carmelita actually suggeted we call him and here he is, already on his way..." He cut his gaze to Penelope and Murray. "Keep Bentley out of trouble, you guys." He grinned then bowed. "Au revoir."

"Stay safe," said Penelope. "And if it makes you feel any better, we've been working on a way to locate Clockwerk's missing body based on the transmission signal used in the co-processor. Remember how it was smuggled in an experimental Interpol communication's server?" A smug grin tugged at the corner of her mousy maw. "We've determined it is here in Prague, so far. We're just working on figuring out where, exactly."

"You guys are the best," said Sly. He turned to Carmelita and nodded for the front door. He opened it for her and she stepped through. He continued to hold it open and nodded for the Czech wolfhound to come inside. "Introduce yourself to the gang. I hope you've been practicing what Donovan was teaching, because they'll need all that shadow-bending magic to succeed. I'm heading out – I'll catch up with everyone in a few days. Keep my friends alive, all right?"

"I'll… do my best; why are you leaving, though?"

"Long story," said Sly. "They're trying to finish something your teacher started – he was interested in sabotaging Clockwerk before completion because he found out what the frame would be used for. The guys will explain everything. I'm in a hurry – sorry I can't stick around and stuff but, yeah…" He nodded at the vixen in the doorway. "You know what they say: Never keep a woman waiting. See ya'." He waved to his friends one last time then followed Carmelita outside.

The Shadow Cult apprentice shut the door behind himself and turned to the three thieves with an awkward frown. "Greetings – you all knew my mentor?"

"Yeah," said Murray. "He was a huge jerk at first, but in the end he turned out to be alright. I'd probably let him ride shotgun in my new van, if he was still around. Anyway, I'm Murray."

Bentley nodded. "Bentley – let's leave the formalities and surnames at the door."

"Penelope," said the mouse with the patchwork denim overalls. She pushed her round-rimmed glasses up from her button-like nose. "What's the deal behind the Shadow Cult? Was it a religion or something?"

"I'm Erik," he told them, trying to relax his Russian accent so they could understand him better. "I've studied the art of Shadow Manipulation with Mister Loupe for seven years. I'm thirty-one years old and I've taken an oath to protect the Onyx of Shade from falling into the hands of the wrong people – anyone at all, really. It's an artifact necessary to resurrect the fallen Arch-Angel of Biblical Fame. My people are gypsies and we've made it our duty to protect the world from these artifacts, so that the Morningstar cannot be reborn with flesh and blood."

Murray lifted a hand as if he were an elementary student. "Wait, wait, I have a question! Why is it bad if this bad guy is born? Then we could kick his butt and everything would be happy again, right?"

"First of all," said Erik with a frown, "If you thought telling Sire 'no' was difficult, then it would be impossible to this person. They would speak with a silver tongue that no one could resist. It would be the pinnacle of temptation, telling you everything you wanted or needed to hear. He wouldn't force you to listen, like Sire; he would seduce you with words. He would manipulate your mind with a soft smile and … we're talking about the Devil. He is the master of temptation. Billions would follow him and praise him. He would solve all the world's problems, gain the trust of everyone, then lead them down any path he wishes. Imagine him in the body of Clockwerk, indestructible and high on a power trip."

Bentley folded his arms. "I thought Russians were mostly agnostic," said the turtle.

"I'm a gypsy," said Erik. "It gets deeper – there's one artifact out there, capable of stopping everything. It could reverse the revival process, even if all ten artifacts were used to a malevolent extent. This is the part that people struggle to believe, though."

"What is it?" Penelope walked to a coffee maker in the corner and held up two Dixie cups. "You want a cup of Joe?"

"Please," said Erik. "Are you three familiar with the story of Genesis?" he asked, reverting to the previous subject. "Most biblical scholars tell us that the forbidden fruit is a metaphor. They tell us that the 'serpent' seduced Eve into an act – the carnal knowledge of intercourse for the sake of lust. The forbidden fruit was sex with someone forbidden. She invited her husband to partake of the forbidden fruit and, perhaps, the three of them engaged together. It's unclear and obscure because such a subject is inappropriate for children, most likely. At any rate, there really was a tree with fruit. Euphemism aside, our bloodline teaches that this tree was a vessel for balance. Good and evil, for the lack of a better explanation, were placed into this tree, so that there would be balance in the world. The scales of good and evil were tipped sharply and evil was released from this tree. It's from this tree that we've received Original Sin, coded in our very DNA. It makes us who we are. We're all born with this Original Sin – the tree now resides in the realm of the Creator." He paused and looked over the other three to make sure they were following his explanation.

He took the offered cup of coffee from Penelope, thanked her, then continued his short story. "A piece of fruit from that tree survived the garden. A single seed, extracted from the fruit, was hidden by a family of gypsies – ones not related to my group. This seed could be used to grow a new tree, which could be used two ways…"

Penelope sat back down besides Bentley and said, "For good or for evil – just like everything else. But how does one use a tree for good or for evil? It's just a plant."

"For good, this tree could indefinitely delay the prophecies of the Revelations. Armageddon would simply never happen – the Sun would run out of hydrogen before the celestial war ever happens." Erik took a sip from the coffee then placed it on a windowsill to cool and cleared his throat. "If the lord of darkness is reborn, he would try to obtain the seed and grow the tree. If that happens, he would inject his sins, his imperfections, his weaknesses… into the tree. After all, it was designed to be a vessel. He would be free of his frail mortality and be truly all powerful. Killing him in the physical world would become completely impossible. He would regain the very same might he possessed as an Arch-Angel, before the beginning of time. He would no longer need to use his tongue to dupe people into following him… he would simply crush any who defied him. Short of direct intervention from the return of the Messiah, he would rule the world. And he would turn billions of followers against the returning Savior making it a very bloody version of Judgment Day. Trust me, it's better that we just keep everything hidden and everyone goes on living as they are now."

Bentley rubbed the side of his head. "None of this is based in science – we can't prove there were ever angels prior to the Big Bang."

Erik retrieved the cup of coffee and said, "Some say the Big Bang was caused by the initial war, when the Devil began an uprising against the Creator. God only knows…"

"Isn't that the truth," replied Penelope. "This is some pretty wild stuff you're telling us. It sounds like something from a cheesy Science Fiction novel or some sort of crazy Fan Fiction based on some video game, mixed with a little religious, mythological and historical background. Dan Brown is probably writing getting sued for the rights to this whole story, as we speak."

"Amusing," said Erik. The wolfhound shook his head then took another sip from the coffee cup. "If it weren't all true, I would say that the author of this supposed story is a moron. However, I'm here as a bearer of bad news: Sire's people are working on this, as we speak. He was the outgoing one of that order. However, he wasn't that bright and had no idea that Donovan Loupe was a member of the opposing group… And so, Donovan was able to infiltrate Sire's operation and …everything went sour. Only two other Shadow Masters still walk this earth. They're very private and will remain inactive. We'll most likely never see them unless Sire's cult goes after the Shade Onyx. They'll fight to the death to protect it, but aren't able to survive something as devastating as, say, a modern flame thrower. They've become integrated with dark matter, in order to achieve mastery of the shadow form… but that makes them twice as prone to death by fire or lightning."

Murray stood up, then sat down again. "So as long as they remain hidden and no one finds the hidden jewel stone…" He paused then exclaimed, "The bad guys can't use it to resurrect anyone! Right?"

"There's one problem," Erik announced in a flat voice. "This onyx stone has been located. It's in a vault beneath the Australian Outback. Shadow Masters take an oath not to attack innocent mortal bystanders. It's forbidden by the Angels and Arch-angels. Demons don't live by that code which is why they have an evil alignment."

Bentley snapped his fingers. "The miners!"

Murray looked up. "You mean the ones that we had to fight, when they took over Master Guru's home?"

"The very same," exclaimed Bentley. "Their employer most likely had ties to Sire's group. They must have been looking for the vault, beneath the rock. They're an innocent bystander group – contracted to simply do work with no idea what was going on."

"They wouldn't have gotten very far," said Erik. He took another sip of coffee then told them, "A shadow relic guards the area from neutrally-aligned beings. The Mask of Dark Earth is a possessed facial mask. It turns the wearer into a mindless, aggressive zombie, fighting against invaders to the land. Any who try to dig down to the vault will be meet with strong resistance from the wearer. If that person is destroyed, the mask will simply possess a new host to ward off invaders. It uses a neutral-aligned person to fight other neutral persons… that way, neither Good nor Evil is technically intervening."

"Oh boy," said Bentley with an anxious sigh. "What… uhm, what happens if the mask is destroyed?"

"The vault will be unprotected against mortal beings." Erik took another sip from his coffee.

Bentley licked his lips and glanced about with nervous apprehension. "Remember that vixen who just left with Sly? Yeah, uh, she was the last person to wear it… We rescued her from it by removing it from her… and a group of mercenaries destroyed the mask with modern weapons… explosives and blowtorches, you name it."

Erik's eyes widened. A mortified expression came over his facial features. "And the mortal miners?"

Murray said, "Nothing to worry! We drove them out, so everything is awesome!"

"While that is a relief," Erik murmured. He placed the half-finished cup back on the windowsill. "I must admit that does concern me. What was the extent of their operation leading up to that point? Anyone could easily return to finish the job."

Bentley groaned. "They had trenches and canyons. Some of their digging pits were deeper than asteroid craters. That was one of the things that bothered me about their operation… they had a lack of typical mines. It was like they were just moving dirt and clearing land for depth – there was a striking lack of cave systems associated with typical mining. Not to say there weren't caves – they did have cavernous tunneling systems… but most of their mining was deeply dug holes in the middle of the outback. I mean, they were nearly to the mantle, from the looks of things. We didn't know the Mask of Dark Earth was some sort of natural relic for the protection of the area."

Erik slumped to the floor in front of the window. He drew his knees to his chest and folded his arms. His frustrated expression made Bentley and Murray feel guilty. The Czech released a deep sigh. "What else would it be used for? It used mortal beings to drive out invaders with aggressive zeal. It always stayed in the vicinity of the outback that I'm aware of. Doesn't that make sense?" He paused for a moment then muttered under his breath. After a short period of quiet, he lifted his voice and told them, "It's obvious they've known where the artifact is… now they'll use mortal beings to fetch it, knowing that Shadow Masters aren't allowed to kill neutral-aligned people. Whether or not the gypsies of the seed are able to keep their artifact hidden, only ten pieces are required to resurrect the lord of darkness. If he's placed inside of an immortal metal body, he won't need the seed – it appears our enemies have already thought of this ahead of time. We have to work together to do what we can – the world is at stake."

"This is deeper than…" Bentley trailed off into a quick fit of sneezing. "Yeah, this is definitely bad." He sneezed again, followed by a sigh.

Cleopatra slumped with a groan. "What type of tracking system are you using? Can we use global satellite monitoring?" She turned to AJ with an expectant gaze.

"It's a temporary and localized device – anything better would require a larger beacon, easily identifiable at a glance. Beyond four hundred miles, the signal will distort – we're almost to Prague, is it still airborne? If so, we're in trouble."

Her eyes flitted to the PDA then at the fox and back at the PDA's small screen. "It appears as though it's been transported from a major airport to a private airfield about forty miles from us." She licked her lips then asked, "How long will the battery last on your localized beacon?"

"We've field tested it for seventy-two hours with mixed results," he told her. "Let's be safe and say at least fifty hours."

"Fair enough." The squirrel nodded then leaned back in the cushy Denali seating. "We're going to have to catch a plane and follow this thing. Our only problem is, we'll need a plane, a pilot, and fuel. God only knows where they're going and I'm sure whoever has it is following a plan. And here we are, flying by the seat of our metaphorical pants. I wonder if that stupid metal owl is the one transporting the cane."

"I'm not briefed on that situation but I'll make some calls and work with our contacts in the area." The red-furred vulpine agent gritted his molars together and said, "Saundra is my team's go-to person and without her help, I have to go through the chain of command and hope they hurry. Keep your fingers crossed."

Cleo shook her head with disdain. "Forget about CIA channels. From here on out, we're going to use my connections. From here on out, I'm team leader and you're the hired muscle all right? Now, give me a moment." She reached into a gear back on the floor between her ankles and pulled out a small plastic object. She then attached the object into the USB port on the side of the PDA. She toyed with the palm-sized computer for a moment then accessed a map from their global position. After a few minutes of silence, she cleared her throat. "Get off the highway at your next opportunity."

Jacob stole a sidelong glance then flipped on his turn signal. He merged into the far right lane then eased off the highway at the first exit ramp. He followed her gestures and came to a stop in the parking lot of a shopping center. At this early hour of the morning, it was empty. He put the SUV into park as per her request then pivoted in his seat to face her. "Now what?"

"I drive and you sleep until we arrive in the South Pacific," she replied in a firm, stoic tone.

"The South Pacific? What makes you think it's going to…?" He paused and furrowed his brows at her. He watched her with interest then asked, "Now what are you pulling out of your bag?"

"This," said Cleo. She retrieved a tranquilizer pistol and shot him in the arm.

Jacob White blinked and lowered his head. The round sported a fluffy green tag like the ones on the sleeping patrolmen not far from the Japanese aircraft carrier. "Wait a second… I recognize those from the guards on that Island, where the SEALS were killed." He eyed the feathery green end of the dart then slumped forward, suspended by the shoulder harness of his seatbelt.

"You're a beautiful, dumb man," she whispered. "But you have a sharp memory, my dear." She leaned forward and kissed his lips. She placed her left paw on the seatbelt buckle, her right paw on the dart in his arm then eased back. He slumped over the center console. Cleopatra deposited the sleeping dart into a cup holder then guided him out of the driver's seat. It took a few moments of struggling but she managed to drag him across the storage box located between the two front seats. She placed her paws against his muscular rump then gave a hard shove.

His upper body sank to the floor in the back seat while his legs flopped over the backrest in the middle row. She unbuckled herself then climbed into the back and laid him out in a comfortable position. "I'm going to need you at your best, later. So do us both a favor and stay asleep, Agent." She placed a thumb against his lips then tapped his nose with her finger. "If you don't behave, you won't be sleeping with either of the Moore twins, ever again." Her chiding voice gave way to a grin. "You man-whore." She made her way back up to the front seat and scooted over into the front left seat. Cleopatra buckled herself in, took the wheel and put the vehicle in gear. "Must we always revisit the cliché archipelago setting?"

She reached over the center console, grabbed her knapsack and pulled it into the leather passenger seat. While maneuvering the Denali back onto the highway, Cleo used her right paw to remove several shining objects from her duffle. She peered over at the collection every few seconds between quick glances back at the road. The baroness took a headcount of her gathered prizes… A shimmering bock of Topaz, a large metallic coin, a golden locust, and the weathered head of an ancient spear, rested on the leather-wrapped chair. "An authentic mint – who would have thought something worth so much money, could bring such a headache?"

Moore leaned back and brought both of her paws to either side of the steering wheel. She placed her thumbs on the radio controls on either side of the center-mounted airbag section then activated the satellite radio. She flipped through the channels until she found something she liked and eased the volume up by a notch. "If I see you on that island, I'm going to take that cane… even if it has to be over your dead body. I can't have machines attacking Paris over ten stupid trinkets. This has all gotten way out of hand." Cleo continued the soft, argumentative monologue with herself all the way to the private airfield.

Twenty hours later…

"I've never," replied Cooper. He turned from Carmelita and placed his paws on his hips. His eyes fell upon the sleek military jet. "Fourteen hundred nautical miles, huh? On one tank of gas?" He placed a paw upon the fuselage of the modified F-35 Lightning-II fighter jet. "And how did you manage to pay for this, again?"

Inspector Fox placed a paw on his shoulder. "You've never flown supersonic ever? Not even on a Concorde?" She then added, in reply to his question, "I didn't pay for it – you did. I used my badge to make them deliver the jet prior to the check clearing. I suggest you make a transfer of funds to the appropriate account while we're at the vault, Sly." The fox offered a devious grin at her mate.

"…How in the world did you get my bank to agree to that?" Sly turned from the fighter and rubbed his cheeks with his palms.

"You'd be surprised what my badge will accomplish. At any rate," she said, trailing off for a moment. "That is the reason I brought you to Japan." She closed her right paw around his shirt and tugged. "Are you kidding me? I can't afford this on my salary. And I can't afford to insure it, either. However, I'm licensed to fly equipment like this, so I've registered myself as your permanent pilot."

"Carmelita, how much did this cost?" Sly reached his palm behind his head, still somewhat confused by everything going on. "This thing has to be millions of dollars – you seriously made a purchase in my name on something you think will be able to fight Clockwerk and get us to Kaine Island in a heartbeat? Why?"

"We don't have much time," she told him. "It was thirty-seven million Euros – nothing but sofa change for the world's unofficial wealthiest man. Bentley gave me access codes for the vault – he and I came up with the idea for this purchase. You've inherited a few trillion dollars, if you count coin and liquidation of all physical assets. Now you're the proud owner of a modified F-35c , and for an additional six million Euros, Rolls Royce added in a replacement engine unit to be shipped to Bentley's lab in Paris, next week. All you have to do is sign… here." She pulled a pamphlet from her pocket and smiled. "Consider it your pre-wedding wooing present to me. What can I say, I'm having a high-maintenance moment. Again, we're running out of time."

Sly took the pen and pamphlet from her, gawking at it in his palms. "Doesn't this sort of thing take at least a business week to procure?"

"Bentley and I placed the order from Lockheed Martin the morning before we flew from Prague to Panama, almost two months ago. The day you proposed, I signed to take delivery. Then, I had it shipped to Tokyo. I spent another four million Euros to have the modifications done. An enlarged fuel tank that exceeds the original fourteen hundred nautical miles, for starters. I had the cockpit removed, redesigned and now it's a two-seater. It's back-to-back – we wouldn't have fit any other way."

"…But why?" The dumbfounded raccoon rubbed his forehead. "I thought you said the check didn't clear yet – to get the funds when we arrive at the vault?"

Carmelita groaned and placed her paw on his muzzle. "Sly, I was being facetious, sweetheart. Bentley and I wrote it up about seven weeks ago. We wanted to have an ace-in-the-hole to fight Clockwerk. Then I went a few weeks without hearing from you. I figured, if you just disappeared from my life again, Bentley would receive it and I would simply miss the chance to fly a supersonic jet. I took lessons, though, while you were missing in action, last month. I'm a certified supersonic jet pilot – I got my certification two days before you showed up in my apartment last week. It's been here, in Japan, waiting for us. The modifications are complete as of two days ago. I signed over permission for the team to test it – this jet has only six flight hours on it, so far. But first, you have to sign that pamphlet, Ringtail."

Sly glanced beneath the starboard wing and broke into soft laughter. "You bought a jet to fight a metal owl and it can go… how fast?"

Carmelita face-faulted. "We're in a hurry, Cooper. Sign the dotted line." She sighed then said, "Mach two…" She trailed off into a soft mumble, adding, "and a half." The vixen suddenly felt guilty. With the help of his best friend, she spent fifty-four million American dollars to Lockheed, over four million Pounds Sterling to Rolls Royce's North American Engine Division and six hundred sixty-eight million yen to Japan. It was hardly a drop in the bucket for what was in the vault but the realization set in: she could have fed a small country for a year to buy and customized one supersonic jet fighter. Carmelita frowned. "Are you mad?"

"Have I ever been?" Sly turned to her and grinned. "You spent almost forty-eight million Euros on a war plane to fight Clockwerk – the least you could have done was get the gang's logo painted on the wings and tail."

She balled her fists up and glared at him. "You could feed a country with the cost of this machine!" She ground her teeth together, almost seething. "All you care about is the aesthetics of this thing? Do you really think I would spend extra money on paint, clear-coat and Teflon to keep it from melting off? Dammit, Cooper."

Sly cocked his head in spite of her sudden outburst. "Two hundred bucks from a detailing garage." He signed his name to the paper and handed it to her. "I hope you have a very Merry un-birthday, future Mrs. Cooper."

Carmelita shifted gears again and looked down. She snatched the paper and pen from him then nodded in an almost sullen way. "Sly, could you donate a few of those gold coins to some sort of charity? I just realized what that kind of money could buy…"

"And to think – Militant countries buy these planes by the hundreds, per order ticket. Not to mention weapons and everything else. Listen, I was wrong to suggest putting the Cooper gang logo on the plane, since you're going to be the pilot. We'll get a nice golden star emblazoned on the wings – sound good?"

"What're we going to do with this jet if and when we defeat Clockwerk? I mean, we ordered it before we realized the extent of his invincibility. We won't hardly have a need for it any longer. Maybe we should have just… borrowed one or something."

"He's not in the indestructible body right now," Sly reminded her. "And we'll auction it off for a Children's organization or donate it to the city of Paris as the privately owned craft, which single-handedly defeated the attacker of France. You can sign it in lipstick as its pilot."

She shook her head with a slight grin. "You're too much. Listen, we're going to break this thing in today by flying to Kaine Island. Are you sure this is all right? I didn't even ask before I spent all that money."

"Bentley owns a third of it, as far as I'm concerned – I made him the proprietor when I left to be with you, remember?"

She nodded in silence. She then lowered her head and said, "It was irresponsible and impulsive to spend that much, especially without talking to you about it."

Cooper placed a paw beneath her chin and lifted her head until their eyes met. "You spent a fraction of a fraction to try and protect the future of the Cooper bloodline from Clockwerk. As far as I'm concerned, I can think of no other woman I'd want to protect my children."

"That's sweet of you Sly, I mean…" She froze then glared at him. "Who in the heck says I'd have kids with you anyhow?" She lifted her paws then added, "Sorry, that was a reflexive reaction. I keep forgetting I said yes to your engagement proposal." She lifted her left paw, waving the ring at him then grinned. "Dios mio – if I actually go through with it and marry you, I'll be…"

"What?"

Carmelita threw her paws into the air, but didn't release the paper or pen. She bluntly erupted, "Seré una perra rica. …Zorra."

Sly, half-way sure of what she just said, cocked his head. "You did not just say that."

She pointed a finger in his face and said, "Listen to me, mister… if I want to call myself a rich bitch, I have every right. But if I ever heard those words muttered by anyone else, including you, I'll flatten ya'. And don't think I won't. Look, we're wasting time. We need to take this thing and fly to Kaine Island. It's a short flight over the Pacific Ocean with this thing. Let's not waste any more time, all right?"

Cooper motioned to the jet. "I suppose we should contact the owner of the airfield. We should get flight suits and get ready. Either way, I love you." His words took her by surprise, as was his plan.

She cocked a single brow then poked him in the nose with her finger. "You'd better." Then the vixen managed another grin. "Or else."

"I love when you talk dangerous to me," chided Sly with a wink. "All right, I'll follow you: Let's go and do whatever we have to do in order to get ready to fly this thing. I want that cane back before someone else goes and tromps through my family vault without wiping their feet."

"From here on out, just refer to it as the key to the vault, please? You know I'm not fond of that cane and what it stands for." She slugged him in the chest and asked, "Why couldn't you be the world's legal wealthiest man? Anyhow, I'm not going to hold it against you because it's all inheritance, but that doesn't mean I won't hold it against your ancestors."

"Hey," said Cooper, following her back towards the technology offices adjacent to the airfield. "I don't hold it against all of your ancestors for every single one of them being some sort of cop, now do I?"

"Not all of them were cops," retorted Inspector Fox. "I had a great-great Uncle who was a Fire Battalion Chief. See? My family knows and understands the value of individuality – proof positive that you could aspire to be something other than a low-down sneaky criminal thief… if you really wanted." She glared over her shoulder at him, as if to suggest that he had little choice other than wanting to be something lawful.

"Maybe I could be a gymnastics teacher," said Sly as if pondering aloud.

"A what? What kind of job is that for someone with your abilities? It's obvious your true calling is with Interpol."

"Aw geeze," he replied, shoving his paws into his front pockets. "My future wife is a recruiter."

"Future wife?" she snorted reflexively… She then added, "If you're lucky. But I'm willing to bet you'll mess it up, again. Either way, we'll see."

Cooper grinned, listening to her rant at him for a few minutes about the, "only time will tell" speech. He tuned her out for the time being. They arrived at the door leading inside the building but before she could open it and walk through, he placed his paws on her hips and pulled her away from the entrance. He stepped in front of her, opened the door by its handle and held it for her like a proper gentleman.

She attempted to scoff at him but it came out sounding like a fake sneeze. She breezed by him in the doorway, snuck a peek at him over her shoulder then continued down the hallway to turn in the signed paper and take delivery of the 'keys'.

A/N: WHAT WAS I THINKING? Almost ten thousand words and NO ACTION in this chapter! Ahh! Honestly, I was just filling in all the holes. You're about to see plenty of action! Everyone is racing for Kaine Island at the same time. Doctor M's abandoned weapons are still covering every extra inch of the Island, which could come under use by just about anyone.

Half the gang is staying back in Prague to find Clockwerk's body and, as you may realize, their time limit has expired. I'm sure Clockwerk is now headed for Prague to see if they made good on his demand – we'll see, but I doubt it!

Who has Sly's Cane? Let's look at a list of possible suspects: It could be Saundra Moore, but why would she take it to Kaine Island? Then again, her twin sister – if they really aren't the same person, has somehow managed to steal an artifact from the CIA and three more from Carmelita's various bank safe deposit boxes! How did THAT happen? Who else could it be? It could be Clockwerk… he might have gotten a hold of it and took it to Kaine Island, where he'll offer to return it in exchange for his rightful body… possible, even if it's not probable. But who else is left? Steven the skunk is still alive, but he's disappeared to restart a new life. Then you've got the mysterious person who was Sire's superior… but we don't even know who that person is or what their gender happens to be… Also, the guy who owned the Atlantis Dome is still alive…

And what's this? Carmelita had the audacity to label Bentley and Penelope as suspects, too? Wow… what a deep, harsh accusation, huh? And if someone other than Chief Barkley has it, what does that mean for him? Did he sell it to someone? Did they steal it from him? If so, is he okay or did they harm him? And what of that crazy female assassin, the weasel who broke into Charlie's place? How does she tie into all of this?

HELL IF I KNOW! I've not thought that far into the story:D

-Kit