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

(Okay wow, this was rushed. Hope it's fine anyway. I had to make up for not writing so long anyway.)

Sly Cooper and the Gang in: Clan of the Cave Raccoon

Mercury looked up at Carmelita and smiled. It was her, who came running and poked him with her foot.

Mercury:"What brings you here... officer Fox?"

Mercury tried to keep up his smile, looking over Carmelita. For a moment, she looked at him surprised.

Carmelita:"Officer Fox?"

Mercury:"Well, you see, technically I'm on duty right now. I thought it would be appropriate to stick to a more formal form of address."

Carmelita:"Duty?"

Carmelita looked over Mercury, spotting the blood trail in the snow, going all the way where she couldn't look any further.

Carmelita:"What sort of duty have you been after?"

Mercury:"Special orders, which were arranged because of everyone's interest. In other words personal stuff, which I'm not allowed to talk about."

Carmelita:"Must be a tough job you have there. Now that you mention it, those tigers, do they have something to do with it? It looked like you had quite some trouble."

Mercury looked at her, moving himself up into a sitting position.

Mercury:"Those guys? Nah, they were filled fear. I was just about to finish them."

Mercury smiled at Carmelita, doing a thumbs up. Carmelita snorted.

Carmelita:"That seemed quite different from my angle."

Mercury felt another seizure coming. Grasping his katana, he rammed it in the ground and kept himself steady. Carmelita looked at him and moved slightly down towards him.

Carmelita:"Are you alright, Mercury?"

Mercury:"Yeah, never been any better."

Carmelita grit her teeth together, seeing the pathetic state he was in.

Carmelita:"You have high fever, you have lost quite a lot of blood and by the looks of it, you don't know where right and left is anymore... what on earth were you thinking, that you came out here, Mercury?"

Mercury looked into Carmelita's eyes, not even sure how he would be able to explain.

Mercury:"I... I..."

Mercury looked at Carmelita, thinking it's quite strange that there suddenly were two of them. He was so surprised he didn't feel that he was slowly swaying back and forth.

Carmelita:"Mercury? Mercury, can you hear me?"

Mercury felt a strong pain, and finally everything went dark, as he collapsed to the ground. All he could make out was a soft fading voice.

Bob rushed out of the tunnel, standing near a stone wall, leading all the way up to the pterodactyl nests.

Bentley:"Okay, Big Guy. Try putting on that binocucom."

Bob held the device in front of him, looking at it confused for a moment, before he put it next to his ear.

Bentley:"Uh, your eyes. Put it on over your eyes."

Bob:"This is amazing! I can see everything! But, how did you get your head inside?"

Bentley:"Yes, that thing will help you see great distances. And I'm not really inside, but I don't have time to explain! My readings show the sprocket is close! It's somewhere just above your position."

Bob:"Did this thing move everything closer?"

Bentley:"Um, no. Sorry, you're not any closer. We call that a "zoom" lens. Just keep climbing."

Bob looked sad for a moment, frustrated that nothing was actually closer, putting the binocucom away. Bob went for the ice wall, starting to climb up. Pounding through a set of bones and jumping across a few gaps in the wall, Bob soon reached a platform leading further into the nest.

Bentley:"Watch out for ice beetles!"

Bob looked at the small creatures coming out of their hives. He hit a few of them and smashed in the hives, moving on to the next climb. Bob climbed around a corner, immediately backing off again, as giant eggs were falling from somewhere up top.

Bentley:"Careful, you don't want to wind up with egg on your face. Sorry, just some terrific egg humor."

Bob evaded the eggs and kept moving on, jumping over spike traps followed by another egg dropping tunnel.

Bentley:"No wonder the pterodactyl are all riled up, the Grizz is stealing all their eggs!"

Bob went for the last push to the top, climbing up the last few meters.

Bentley:"Good, you're almost to the nest."

Bob moved within reach of the nests, located on some thin, huge rocks.

Bentley:"Yes! There is the sprocket! Careful now. It looks like she is gone, but you never know."

Bob jumped from nest to nest, getting himself closer to the sprocket. As he reached it, Bob threw the sprocket in the air, catching it in his hands and held it up. Bob was filled with joy, shown by his grin. But as always, things don't tend to be that easy. A thing that Bob had to learn, too. A screech came echoing closer to Bob, turning his head he saw the pterodactyl mother fly right towards him. She picked up the sprocket, in means to protect her eggs, taking Bob with.

Bentley:"Well, that's not entirely surprising."

After a good 20 seconds of flight, Bob let go of the egg and landed on another platform, near another set of nests.

Bob:"That is one huge bird."

Bentley:"Actually, that is one huge reptile. But, more importantly, it looks like we need to reach those higher nests now."

Bob:"No problem, I can do it!"

Bentley:"I was hoping you'd say that. There's the sprocket, Bob! That Mama Pterodactyl must have broken free, but she's sticking around because all these babies are still captive."

Bob:"We should do something to help them!"

Bentley:"Don't worry, we'll help them! But first we have to get that sprocket back."

Bob:"That shouldn't be a problem!"

Bentley:"You sound just like Sly. Be careful you don't wake her or those babies up! I don't think she'll be very happy to see you..."

Bob began climbing, noticing steam erupt from the ice, he waited a moment and continued. Quietly he made his way past the sleeping baby pterodactyl.

Bentley:"So far so good. This might be our only chance."

Bob was very careful maneuvering his way through the spike traps and cold steam geyser.

Bentley:"Okay, the sprocket is almost in reach!"

Bob jumped up the last meters, landing on top of the mountain. Looking around he saw the mother pterodactyl and the sprocket. Sneaking towards it he picked it up, in a more quiet fashion than before.

Bentley:"Nice job, Big Guy! See you back at the hideout."

Bob:"Sure, I'll be there."

Before he began climbing down however, he pulled out the picture he tucked away earlier. Bob looked at it, looking off into the distance. After tucking it away again, Bob descended down, going back to the base of the mountain.

?:"Poor boy, seems like his parents died in that house fire. He is the only one that made it."

Mercury wished he wouldn't have to listen to the people's whisper.

?:"That's really sad, are you sure it's a good idea to already give him someone to cope with? I mean he should at least get some time to grief."

Mercury wiped away his tears, still hearing the sound of their house burning in the distance.

?:"I don't think that lies within our judgement, it's his godfather."

Mercury saw the man come running towards him, falling to his knees in front of him.

?:"Oh my god, Mercury, are you alright? What in god's name happened?"

Mercury kept silent, showing no emotions at all. The man just embraced him and held him for a long time.

Mercury opened his eyes, looking at the ceiling of, what seemed to be, a cave. He spotted something like a cork board, covered in information about this vale. Looking furthermore he saw a campfire located in the middle.

Mercury:"Just what I needed to see right now..."

Mercury got up into a sitting position. He finally remembered what happened, mainly because he felt like his head was about to explode.

Mercury:"Aah!"

Trying his best Mercury ran out of the cave into the snow. Mercury threw himself in the snow, burying his head in a pile of snow. A good few minutes passed by, where he was just lying there, thinking. Hearing something drop down in a few feet distance, Mercury was all ears for what ever it was.

Carmelita:"Oh my god."

Mercury felt Carmelita's presence next to him.

Carmelita:"Oh, you scared the crap out of me- I mean, what are you doing out here? You should be inside, lying on that bed, not out here."

Carmelita listened to Mercury's mumble through the snow.

Carmelita:"What was that?"

Mercury poked his head up, wiping away the snow.

Mercury:"I said I can't stay in there any longer, it feels like my head is about to explode."

Carmelita looked over him slightly worried.

Carmelita:"Fine, hold on."

Mercury sat up, looking at her.

Carmelita:"Just a moment, I'll get one of my spare jackets from inside the cave."

Carmelita went inside getting her jacket, she put it on and went outside again. Carmelita was confused, because at first she couldn't spot Mercury anywhere. She looked further, spotting him sit close to the edge of the mountain. Walking over, she put the jacket over Mercury's shoulders. Slightly embarrassed and blushing he looked at her.

Mercury:"Thanks."

Carmelita smiled for a split-second, but tried to keep a neutral face.

Carmelita:"Now, that you woke up, do you mind, if we continue where we stopped?"

Mercury looked at her with a confused expression.

Carmelita:"What were you doing out here?"

Mercury got the idea, but still didn't feel like that's the topic he wanted to talk about. Carmelita looked at him expectantly, but sighed after getting no answer.

Carmelita:"Do I have to help you rushing through your memory?"

Carmelita pulled something out of her jacket, throwing it at Mercury's feet.

Mercury:"Those are..."

Mercury looked at a bunch of his shuriken, lying at his feet.

Carmelita:"Yours, I know. I remembered that you could possibly be the only one using them here. When I went through the guards to look for information, I saw that some of them had been taken out by someone else. So? It wasn't just coincidence after coincidence, that you and I were at the same camps over and over again, was it? What was your goal?"

Mercury sighed, looking down into the vale. After a moment, he looked back at Carmelita.

Mercury:"Officer Fox, why did you run off when we got here?"

Carmelita:"That's not an answer, that's a counter question, but if you insist to know. I couldn't stand being around that little lying raccoon any longer. I needed to cool off my head out here and taking out these vermin is just the right thing for me."

Mercury smiled at her. Carmelita looked at him, wondering what he thought.

Mercury:"That little lying raccoon was really worried about you, you know? After freeing Bob, we went out to look for you..."

Carmelita didn't know whether she should be angry or thankful.

Carmelita:"Well, you can tell him, he doesn't have to worry in the slightest. I'm packed with enough power to take out these goons anytime. And tell him, I don't need any special support. If I get to see him anytime soon, he's gonna get shocked."

Mercury felt hurt hearing those words, getting even worse as the sunk in further.

Mercury:"I don't think he would be able to listen right now..."

Carmelita eyed him with a confused look.

Carmelita:"What do you mean?"

Mercury scratched his head, thinking up the best way to explain.

Mercury:"Back when we went out to look for you... something happened. There was an avalanche and, well... we were hit. Bob made it out just fine, myself included, but Sly wasn't that lucky. Right now he's probably still unconscious."

Carmelita looked at Mercury in horror.

Carmelita:"But he'll make it, right?"

Mercury nodded.

Mercury:"It has been quite some time now, he should wake up soon."

Carmelita:"You idiots, why did you follow me? If you didn't..."

Carmelita looked at Mercury, slightly upset, but not because of anger, it was worry. Mercury looked down at the ground.

Carmelita:"Who knows what else could have happened?"

Carmelita looked down at Mercury's leg, still spotting some blood on it.

Carmelita:"You got yourself hurt, just because you went after me, isn't that right?"

Mercury looked at it his leg wound, one of the guards got him pretty good.

Carmelita:"And the guards from before? Mercury, if I hadn't been there, you would be dead right now!"

Mercury:"I know!"

Mercury looked up at Carmelita, tears going down his face. Carmelita pulled back for a moment, not expecting such an outburst.

Mercury:"I knew the risks of this "Job" of mine. I wanted to make sure nothing happened to you."

Carmelita:"And end up getting yourself killed? That's not really a great master plan you got there."

Mercury:"Sly ended up unconscious because of me, alright!?"

Carmelita looked at Mercury, once more filled with horror.

Mercury:"We fought because we...- He said something about someone I really cared about, at some point I couldn't take it anymore and jumped him. I don't know if it was with the intention to just shut him up... or worse. When we fought, something I did caused the avalanche, which ended up getting him unconscious."

Carmelita looked at Mercury, not knowing what to say.

Mercury:"The thing is, because I caused this, I'm taking full charge for what happened. I don't want him to end up like me, losing who he really loves. I would rather die."

Mercury looked at Carmelita, seeing just how mixed her feelings were at the moment. Mercury planted himself in the snow, onto his back. He turned his head away from Carmelita, giving her a few minutes to take everything in. He couldn't really stop his own tears. After a minute, Mercury spoke up.

Mercury:"Those tigers, the ones you talked about, who almost killed me. They said something that made me really angry or rather go insane. They said... they killed you."

Mercury brought up his hands to wipe away some tears, listening to Carmelita's breathing behind him.

Mercury:"Sergeant Mercury, asking for permission to drop more formal form of address."

Mercury heard a low laugh, followed by a deep breath-in.

Carmelita:"Permission granted."

Mercury listened to the soft voice behind him, turning his head to look at Carmelita.

Mercury:"I'm glad you aren't dead, Carmelita."

Mercury looked at her with a smile and tears in his eyes. Carmelita smiled back at him.

Carmelita:"I'm glad you aren't either."

They smiled at each other, Mercury's tears slowly fading away. Sitting there out in the open, Carmelita and Mercury looked down into the vale.

Carmelita:"For how long have you been following me through those camps?"

Mercury:"Hm. The past two weeks."

Carmelita:"And never have I been ambushed or hurt in any way. Some nice back-up you gave me."

Carmelita smiled at Mercury.

Carmelita:"You know that now, when I need back-up again, it's out of the question who I'm asking, right?"

Mercury laughed, getting the idea rather quickly.

Mercury:"And I won't deny it, ever. That's a promise."

Mercury looked at the sun starting to go down.

Mercury:"It's going to get dark soon, want to head for the last camp and end this mission?"

Carmelita:"No."

Mercury looked at Carmelita confused.

Carmelita:"You're heading home, it's bed-time for you. You need a break, you've more than earned it."

Mercury:"But I'm strong enough to help you out, I'm not going down that easily."

Carmelita:"And I'm a strong woman, able to look after herself, just this one time. Go back and rest."

Mercury seemingly thought about it.

Mercury:"I don't know, Carmelita. There are those really big and ripped tigers. They aren't easily taken down. Those were the ones that hurt me, and then I ended up running into the other pair of them, who almost got me."

Carmelita:"Don't worry, I can take them."

The two of them heard a growl, emitting from behind a nearby rock. Looking over they saw two very angry looking tigers.

Sabre tooth tiger:"Let's see who we got here, the fox lady and the guy with the cocky attitude. So you're saying you can take us out? We'll see about that."

Mercury looked over to them, filled with horror. Carmelita pulled out her gun, preparing herself. Mercury moved closer to Carmelita, trying to whisper her something.

Mercury:"Carmelita, my katana, where is it?"

Carmelita looked back for a moment, telling him the location in the cave. The tigers saw Carmelita and Mercury whisper, starting to rush at them. They laughed as they saw Mercury run off.

Sabre tooth tiger:"Ha. Look at the weakling run off, leaving the other wimp all by herself."

Carmelita fired a few shots, but the tigers dodged them. One tiger hit her, pushing her back with his sword.

Carmelita:"Don't make me laugh, you calling us weaklings?"

Carmelita kicked the tiger back, knocking him into the other.

Sabre tooth tiger:"Lady's got the same cocky attitude, I see."

Mercury came running out of the cave, his katana at his waist, ready to fight.

Sabre tooth tiger:"Oh look, the weakling returned!"

Mercury looked at the tiger, a grim expression covering his face.

Mercury:"Carmelita, get going."

Carmelita:"What?! You can't be serious?"

Mercury:"With these two here, the last camp is completely unprotected. There were only four of these guys. I'll take care of these two."

Carmelita couldn't believe his words, he was hurt that badly and still has this much confidence in his ability to win.

Carmelita:"You're insane, let me stay and help."

One tiger leapt at Mercury. He brought up his katana blocking the impact. Mercury turned to look at Carmelita. She saw that he was serious, she wouldn't be able to talk this out of him. Carmelita turned and ran for an opening.

Sabre tooth tiger:"Not so fast, we want to enjoy this. Stay here and relax a bit with us!"

The tiger jumped at Carmelita. She turned her head, seeing the tiger come closer. She was about to fire a shot, but stopped when she saw Mercury, jumping up in front of her, kicking the tiger back.

Mercury:"You'll have enough fun with me around."

Mercury rushed towards both tigers, slashing at them, making them fall back further and further. Carmelita watched this display of sword fighting, forgetting her goal completely.

Sabre tooth tiger:"Pah. Still as cocky as last time, I see."

Mercury swung his katana, pushing him back even further, making him hush in an instant.

Mercury:"Less talking, more fighting."

Mercury breathed heavily, enduring the pain in his leg for now. The tiger smiled, seeing just how much it must be of nuisance to him.

Sabre tooth tiger:"I don't know, pal. To me it looks like you're once more out of power."

Mercury smiled wide. The tiger was surprised to see him smile, expecting him to be filled with fear, because he was about to get mowed down.

Mercury:"Look where you're standing."

The tiger looked around, noticing he pushed them all the way back to the edge of the mountain. He looked back at Mercury in fear, seeing him ram his sword into the ground. The amplified, huge impact on the ground beneath them, made the ice slowly crumble away. The tiger saw another two impacts, going around a half circle around them.

Mercury:"You're going down."

The tiger saw Mercury smile just as viciously as they always did. Trying their best to stay on the mountain, they leapt at the wall, trying to climb back up, but that would soon stop and there were no more noises. Mercury fell to his knees, resting for a moment. He turned to smile at Carmelita, who in return smiled back. Before he knew it however, Mercury felt something hold him at his waistline.

Sabre tooth tiger:"If we're going down, so will you."

The tiger kept a strong hold onto him, Mercury tried his best to knock his hands off. Seeing that won't work he used his katana hilt to hit him on the head. It worked, but not as good as he wanted it to. Mercury fell down with the tiger.

Mercury:"Aah!"

Carmelita ran over to the cliff, looking down.

Carmelita:"Mercury!"

End of Chapter twenty five.