Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
(Yaoi Fan Fiction)

For disclaimer : I do not own Sly Cooper or any of their Characters.

Sly Cooper and the gang in: Sunset Snake Eyes

After exiting the pipe the pair of raccoons laid their eyes upon a cluster of very big houses in the distance, one of which had to be Muggshot's hideout. Guards patrolled the area in front of what seemed to be a casino, as Mercury and Sly sneaked closer, eventually stopping after hearing a beeping Binocucom.

"This Muggshot certainly isn't shy. Okay, so we know he's here somewhere, but how are we supposed to find him? Mesa City is a big place.", Bentley was right, the town had quite a lot of space to offer to stay hidden. And with all the guards in play, it wouldn't be a walk in the park. "Given that he's a bull dog... it seems only reasonable to assume he'd choose to live in a giant fire hydrant.", he zoomed in on the middle building, showing the fire hydrant on top.

"That's some sound logic Sly. Now you just need a way to break into the building's base.", with the Binocucom he zoomed through the area, past the guards, as he landed on top of a car. The engine was still running, but it seemed to be locked away with a few locks. "Oh, I'm sure I'll think of something!", he put the Binocucom away. Sly was about to rush out and get a closer look at the car, as he felt a grasp on his shoulder stop him.

"Sly! Don't just rush in, we need to be careful.", eyeing Mercury, he turned, fixing his shirt. "I always have been, so what's the big deal?", Mercury's fingers turned Sly's head, showing him exactly what he was talking about. "See those dogs? They are carrying machine guns, Sly. Machine guns. It's going to leave a hell of a lot more than a simple scar. That's nothing like a deck of cards.", Sly saw Mercury rub softly over the wound on his cheek, eyeing the guards, before his eyes went back to Sly.

"Just be careful, alright?", worried, are we? Sly smiled to himself, the way he seemed to worry so much was almost... cute. He grasped Mercury's hand, taking him with, as they sneaked in closer. Carefully so, as Mercury suggested. They hid behind some barrels, Sly beeping in to Bentley, waiting for him to show them the holographic markers.

As Bentley finished placing the markers, Sly checked them with his Binocucom to memorize their positions. He saw Mercury peeking around the barrel, his eyes following the guard. "What are you doing?", Mercury turned his head, confused why he would even ask such a question. "I thought you wanted my help, isn't that why you brought me along? What is Bentley's marker over there?", Sly was slightly surprised that he was standing strong like this.

"He didn't go into detail, just that Murray needs some help. He's got a shot at getting a key.", Mercury nodded, Sly stopping him before he could run off. "Just make sure I don't have to come running again.", Mercury frowned, his fist hitting Sly's shoulder, before he took off towards the marker. Sly knew he took it well, at least the smile on his lips, as he turned away, would let one assume so. A smile crept on his own lips, as Sly went for the other marker.

Mercury dropped down the last few steps off a ladder, landing on a wooden platform. A turret gun was mounted just in front of him. As he walked up closer, he could make out a familiar voice, a figure waving at him from the distance. Murray? He waved back at his friend, hearing a beeping out of his pocket.

"Hello, is this thing on? I really should have changed the batteries... Mercury?", Mercury grasped the prototype, the turtle's picture quite blurry. "I was kind of expecting Sly, but he mentioned that you two had split up.", Bentley tried his best to make the connection any better, but without him being able to tweak on the prototype directly, it wouldn't make much of a difference.

"Why'd expect Sly? From what I can see so far, you only need me to give Murray some covering fire.", Mercury inspected the turret, flipping some switches, as he took a hold of the gun. "It's nothing just- Sly probably has more experience with... you know.", he is right, Sly was accustomed to fighting and getting good results out of it. Mercury had it down in theory, but was lacking... he didn't know what he was lacking exactly...

"Don't worry Bentley, I'll take care of Murray. I might not have Sly's experience, but I'll show you mine.", as great as that sounded, he'd really have to give it his best. He spent so long on the shooting range, so he must have learned some things, right? "Alright, Murray. I'll do my best!", he took aim of the gate blocking him off, shooting it to bits. As the gate crumbled and burned away, Murray signaled a thumbs up, as he went through.

Mercury followed the hippo closely, watching him through the crosshair. Murray walked past a set of garages, turning as he heard a weird noise come from inside. They suddenly burst open, guard rushing through, almost causing him a heart attack. Mercury took aim of them, seeing Murray cowering to the ground. He hesitated, unable to pull the trigger -why now!? The guards were standing right on top of Murray, preparing their bats for a set of heavy blows. He could see the hippo, he could see his scared features, tears forming in Murray's eyes.

A scream echoed out of the raccoon, squeezing the trigger with all his might. The guards fell, leaving Murray unharmed. It would have been worth relief, but Mercury was feeling a heavy pressure residing in his lungs. He concentrated his breathing, hoping to subdue the effect, otherwise he might hyperventilate. Was he really ready for this? Not that there was a way back at this point.

Mercury felt his finger twitch on the trigger, he hoped there were no more guards, spotting Murray tread through the grounds with fast steps. Foolish hippo, how could you trust me with this!? I'm not ready! He couldn't help it, his mind went off on its own. Another row of guard popped out of a garage, followed by another, ambushing him from behind the box cart he walked through.

Mercury squirmed, unable to get himself to pull the trigger. His breathing rapid, his mind unsteady. With tears in his eyes, he watched the hippo, slowly becoming surrounded. It all went so slow in his head. Was he really about to let one of his friends die? Just because he is unable to pull a simple trigger? But it wasn't simply a trigger. It was a trigger which took a life. He pulled it once and he was already overwhelmed. But his friend's life was one of the most valuable things he had left...

He was out of time... -he had to do something... anything. Yet, all he could was watch with tears in his eyes. Suddenly he felt a heavy force push him, knocking him off his feet and to the side. He recovered himself, seating up and looking at the creature next to him. The most noticeable feature of the creature were its stripes. Sly!? His eyes looked up at another raccoon, where they met a gaze of resent and a dark frown on his face. He took the gun in his hands, saving Murray from the onslaught, just in time, too.

Now Mercury was the one cowering on the ground, lowering his head, each shot of the gun making him flinch. Each shot making him hold his ears shut tight. Each shot making him feel guilty that he couldn't do it. Each shot making the tears trailing down his face, during that time, leave an even bigger impact on him. The shots continued and didn't seem to stop at all, until he heard the hippo cheer, grasping for the key so close to his hands.

Mercury's head lifted slowly, the shooting stopped and the gun was left hanging in its hinges. The other raccoon was nowhere to be seen... Mercury grasped at the ledge, pulling himself up to look over and view Murray in the distance. "Nice shooting, Mercury.", no... that was- "But I have to admit that you scared me when you stopped shooting there for a moment...", exactly, that wasn't me Murray! It was Sly... but how?

Mercury slowly stood up, troubled with several questions. There was so much to take in. His friend almost died and he was too scared to act. Then out of nowhere... when did he show up and how did he do it so fast? At the same time he vanished like it was nothing... and how could he possibly know they needed help? "A-are you alright Murray? You're not hurt?", Mercury felt slightly unsteady on his own feet. He felt his legs still shaking, but at least his breathing and pulse had relaxed -somewhat.

"Yeah -but hey, I, uhm, I think it kind of hurt when you called me foolish. And of course I would trust you, you're my friend!", Mercury couldn't believe it, his mouth agape. Did he say all of that out loud? "I-I'm so sorry, Murray. I never wanted to say that to you, I swear. I'll make it up to you, promise.", what the hell was going on. Mercury stood there with a palm on his forehead. Just what the hell was going on?

"I'm just glad Sly showed up and saved you...", the raccoon heard a slight questioning humming over the Binocucom. "I don't know what you're talking about, I didn't see Sly around at all.", things were getting weirder and weirder for Mercury, as he slumped back to the ground. He wasn't here at all? Mercury shook his head a few times, merely able to pick up some of Murray words, whether he was okay or not.

"I... -don't worry, Murray. I'm okay. I'm just feeling a little dizzy, that is all. I would like to ask you something though. Maybe we can meet up?", Murray seemed to like the idea, a happy cheering transmitted over his Binocucom. "I saw the perfect place for that! There is a hot dog stand close by, I'll come pick you up and we'll drive over there!", Mercury gave his best attempt at a chuckle, grasping his Binocucom. "I guess I could go for something hot right about now... -but please, spare me any more dogs."

Mercury shut the door closed behind him, as he jumped out of the gang's van. He stretched quickly, before the hippo showed up behind him. "Alright, Bentley just wants some fries. You sure you don't want a hot dog? I'm starving! I feel like I am about to only leave behind bones.", what he liked most about Murray was his way of being so genuine, it felt so unique. A smile slowly broadened on Mercury's lips, shaking his head at Murray.

"I'm not really hungry right now. But I still needed to ask you something.", Mercury casually strolled towards the hot dog stand, stepping besides the hippo. Murray, as always carefree, tread slowly, his form shaking gracefully with every step. Murray waited for him to speak up, seeing him stare at the ground while walking, a troublesome look on his face.

"Are you sure you don't want to eat something? You look pale, Mercury.", Murray voiced his worry to him, getting the raccoon to look up towards him. He slowly grasped over his forehead, a smile returning on his features. "I'm okay, but thanks Murray. Could you tell me what you saw back there? During that moment when I stopped shooting... what could you see?", a finger went to Murray's temple, scratching at it softly.

"You really don't remember? You seemed to have lost grip on the gun for a moment, but I knew I could trust you, so I stayed out of your aim and waited. After a moment you got back on it and saved me. After you were done you seemed exhausted, I could only see you sit down.", Murray's eyes rolled around in thought. "That's it, I don't remember anything else, really.", Murray shrugged, leaning on the hot dog stand's counter.

Mercury tried to get a grasp on what exactly happened. Had he simply been hallucinating the things he saw back there? The face of resentment and that frown on Sly's features didn't leave his head. It felt, too, real. How could he have hallucinated that? Murray walked Mercury back to a table close by, holding about eight hot dogs in his hands.

"You really sure you don't want ONE? I bought you ONE, too. I'm really okay with you eating ONE, if you want it.", Mercury was kind of distracted , only catching the way he emphasized the one over and over again. When his confused face met with Murray's, Mercury saw him scratch over his neck, looking like he was struggling with something. "Alright, you can have TWO. Oh, I forgot the mustard.", Murray walked away, leaving Mercury with a smile on his face.

Mercury didn't feel hungry, at least he couldn't truly tell, if he was or not. Sitting back down, Murray covered each hot dog with a mixture of ketchup and mustard. "Aww, I also forgot to grab some napkins.", Mercury didn't truly notice Murray disappear, uttering out softly in his own thoughts. There couldn't be two Sly's, so that wasn't an option. But the one he knew couldn't have possibly reached them in time- smells good... -he should contact Sly himself, maybe he could help out.

Mercury was contemplating whether he should ask Sly or not, because it seemed kind of weird to ask him, if he suddenly had a twin- ...tastes good too... -Mercury worked his brain, his hands caught in an act of their own, unknown to Mercury. It's decided, he had to ask Sly. If he truly wants to know, Sly was the only one who could clarify his suspicion. Murray sat down next to him, his lips twitching slightly, as he looked at Mercury.

"Are you feeling any better?", Mercury was awakened out of his trance, a hand holding his mouth shut, the sides of his mouth feeling a little sticky. Without realizing, he ate hot dog after hot dog. "Oh, oh no, I'm sorry Murray. God it feels like that's the only thing I can say to you today. No, no more. I feel better now, so lets get you some more of those hot dogs, alright?", Mercury grabbed Murray's hand, leading him back to the stand's counter.

On the way over he tried to contact Sly, but was unable to get a connection. He wasn't sure whether this prototype was finally done for, or... "Mercury?", he turned at the call, spotting Bentley walk closer, and closer until he could hide behind him. Mercury looked down at the turtle hiding behind his legs, holding up his laptop. "Bentley are you still there? You said it was urgent. I have some flea bags to deal with, so make it quick.", it was Sly, so that's why. Bentley tapped Mercury's leg, pointing him towards Murray.

The poor hippo was suddenly surrounded by a mass of dogs. "They just suddenly came up to the van and started asking questions, I got scared and made a run for you guys. They seem to be street racers. I contacted Sly, hoping he could help.", slight huffing could be heard over Bentley's laptop. "I'm in the middle of something, just try to stay out of trouble and I'll be there soon.", it was too late for that. Trouble had found them.

Mercury looked at the racer dogs, picking on Murray in the middle of them. It took a moment for him to take a closer look at the dogs, feeling like his eyes are playing tricks on him. One of the guards looked exactly like Sly, staring back at him, his head bending slightly and gesturing to get to Murray. Mercury closed his eyes for a second, rubbing over them, his eyes reopened to find the guy in the row of dogs was gone.

"We can't possibly get Murray away from those dogs, just look at them.", it was true that there were a lot of them, Mercury lifting his gaze from the turtle to look back at the hippo. Still... he couldn't sit around, not when they are picking on his friend. His hands suddenly curled up to fists, turning to Bentley. "We'll need to talk later, Sly.", with that he slammed the laptop shut, stepping over towards Murray. Bentley looked for a spot behind a table, taking it as his new hiding space.

If Bentley didn't see it with his own eyes, he wouldn't have believed it. "Hey, get off and stop picking on him. That guy is my friend.", a dog had his arm laid around Murray, resting on his shoulder. Murray was obviously frightened, but was slightly relieved to see Mercury come to his aid. "We're just talkin' no harm done. Interested in his little vehicle there, but turns out he aint a real racer now, aint he?", what, was this all about a race?

"What are you talking about?", the dog let go of Murray's shoulder, the other dogs chuckling slightly, letting their boss pass through them. "We're just out for a little fun, saw that ride and thought- 'Let's see if there's a guy worthy of a race'. Turned out to be this fella, like I said, aint much of a challenger now, is he?", the dog circled around Mercury, the raccoon following him with his head.

A smile crossed Mercury's lips, Murray surprised to see his expression. "You're looking at the best racer out there. He'd leave you guys in the dust, if it came to a race.", the dog stopped in his tracks, bending down to Mercury, facing him head on. The boss started laughing loudly, seeing the sure grin on Mercury's face. "Well boys, we might have a challenger here after all, if this small guy can be trusted that is.", Mercury was glad he could divert their attention off of Murray, if all they had to do was go against them in a race, it was worth the hassle.

"What's in it for the winner?", might as well push some buttons and check out the stakes, Mercury turning to the boss. The dog smiled back almost viciously. "The boys and I have been racing constantly over who gets to keep a look over this key here.", a key?! Mercury eyed Murray shortly, seeing they had the same thought, bringing his attention back to the dog boss.

"If you can win you can keep it as a loving memory. Not that you stand a chance of winning. This is our home turf. But hey... what do you say?", he held out his hand, waiting for Mercury to accept the offer of the race. Mercury took a glimpse at Murray, winking at him, as he brought his hand to the dogs. The band of dogs started laughing and howling at the agreement, some already taking off to their cars.

As the last ones set out for their cars, Murray was free and happy to be at Mercury's side. "Thanks, it really feels like you saved my life there, buddy. But I don't know whether I can do this. A street race sounds really hard to me.", Murray let his head fall, his chin meeting his chest. Mercury didn't leave him any time to sulk, softly pushing his head back up, lifting his chin to a proud position. "Don't worry, Murray. You believed in me, I've got all the reasons to believe in you. Now let's go take on some racer dogs, eh?", Mercury saw Murray's eyes light up, determination having struck his senses, as he nodded and the two ran for his van.

Bentley watched the duo prepare the van, driving over and lining up with the others at the start. Several minutes had passed, as Bentley saw a familiar set of stripes walk through the hot dog stand's space. "Sly, over here!", even though he tried to say it loudly, it still came out as somewhat of a whisper. Sly turned to find Bentley, hunched underneath a table, his laptop in front of him.

"Hey, what's going on?", Bentley slowly moved out of his hiding space, gesturing Sly to come closer. "Mercury went over to help Murray, that's when they challenged them to a race. I can't believe they actually accepted.", Sly stared at the cars lined up for the race, counting a lot of dogs. He couldn't believe that Mercury worked up the courage to get between so many dogs to help Murray, leaving him quite impressed.

"They mentioned there's a key in it for the winner.", Bentley adjusted his glasses, seeing Sly's eyes suddenly widen. "You sure? The same kind of key we need?", the turtle nodded, it were Muggshot's underlings after all. That key would be the last they need, with that they would gain entrance to the casino and be a shot closer to Muggshot. Sly scratched at his chin for a second, eyeing the duo inside their gang's van. Sly looked back at Bentley, a smile on his lips, "Come on, Bentley, let's go cheer'em on."

"Alright, Murray, this street race is going to be a little different than I imagined. After listening to the boss, I could grasp that there's going to be a bit of an extra to this race.", the hippo looked at him through the back mirror, gulping, as he stared back out the front window. "There's no definition of dirty in this race, so we shouldn't feel bad for hitting back. Alright, big guy? Also there's some cans of nitrogen on the track. We can use those for some more horse power. You can leave that to me."

Mercury sighed softly, breathing in deeply, as he walked up behind Murray. He gasped slightly, at Mercury's touch on his shoulder. "We got this, big guy.", with his touch, Murray felt a lot better, able to relax to a calmer level. The race was about to start, the dogs now all in their cars. Mercury stretched out behind the van, Murray watching him through the side mirror. He hopped on the back, holding onto the van's side. Mercury gave him a thumbs up, he was ready to roll.

Each car honked once, signaling they're ready. A dog outside the race walked to his own car. The third honk of his car was the start sign. Mercury looked around the other cars, seeing some scary smiles coming his way, layered with a set of chuckling. The second honk went off, the engines roaring loudly. Mercury inhaled deeply, his eyes meeting Murray's in the mirror. The last honk came, all cars springing into motion, as they buzzed off.

Mercury was unable to even see some of them, clearly having fueled some of the nitrogen before hand. But they wouldn't give up, not yet. Murray drove carefully at first, creeping up on the fourth car. Mercury got close to the van, as they slowly went by. The weird thing was, they seemed to smile as they went past. Mercury felt something fishy going on, seeing the car in front line up with them.

It suddenly became a much more bumpy ride, as the two cars locked their van between them, effectively sandwiching them. Mercury held onto the side as best as he could, but they'd have to get rid of these guys, otherwise they would not be able to win... there had to be something they could- Mercury's eyes laid upon the car in the back. They still had some nitrogen stored, maybe if he could get his hands on it...

Mercury closed his eyes and prayed, he couldn't believe he was going to do this. He let go, dropping on the car in the back. Mercury's eyes looked back at the track, seeing what their intention was. They planned on ramming them into the side lines. Mercury grasped for the nitrogen on the car's back, suddenly ensnared by something. With the nitrogen in hand he looked down, seeing one of the dog's hands on his ankle.

They came close to the side lines, Mercury curled up, rolling forward onto the hood of the car, breaking through the dog's grip. Quickly he jumped back on their van, opening the cap to the fuel storage. His eyes changed quickly between the upcoming end of the line and him opening the filler cap. With the bumping ride it wasn't quite easy to pour in the nitrogen, spilling some on his clothes.

"Hit it, Murray!", suddenly their van took off in an amazing speed, pushing the car in front of them around. It twisted, hitting into the car on their back, both cars spinning out, eliminating them from the race. Mercury saluted back at them, as they took off. The two cars still in the race already entered the second lap. Mercury saw Murray grow bolder, holding down the pedals, taking shorter corners.

He smiled in the mirror, hitting the van's side, gesturing towards the next car in front of them. One dog was sitting on the side, some nitrogen in hand. As safely- and sneakily as they could, with a van that is, they crept up to them, Mercury grasping the supply of nitrogen out of the dog's hands. Mercury ducked under his attempt to grasp him and pull him over, hitting upwards with the can of fuel. He quickly leant down, attaching a seat belt on the knocked out dog. "Safety first.", the other dog couldn't do much, seeing Mercury back away, a smile on his lips.

With half the rations of nitrogen they entered the last lap in style, rushing past a loudly cheering Sly. That only seemed to fuel Murray further, pushing down on the pedals hard. The last car was in sight, just a few corners away from the finish. The boss of the dogs was so sure of their victory, he was literally swinging the key around in his paw.

"Murray!", he nodded back at Mercury through the mirror. He poured in the last of the nitrogen, the van gaining incredible speed once more. Mercury crouched down slightly, aligning himself with the boss. They came closer and closer, the dog slowly turned his head at the sound of a car speeding behind them. The second he turned, Mercury grasped the key out of his hand, exchanging a bright smile with him, the dog looking back with shock.

They finished, crossing the line in first place. Mercury threw his fist in the air, looking back at the rest of cars slowly settling in at the finish line. Murray drove the van further, around and into the hot dog stand's parking area. Mercury and Murray drove towards Sly and Bentley, both still excited from the race. So excited, Mercury didn't notice all the oil spilled on him, one speck smeared on his face. Sly thought it didn't matter, they earned themselves the victory celebration.

End of Chapter fourteen.