Sly Cooper and the Thievius Raccoonus
(Yaoi Fan Fiction)

Back-story: Chapter 7

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

The sunshine coming through their quarter's window slowly lit up Mercury's face, showing him just how long he must have been lost in thought. 'C.' Mercury's arms still held him in his handstand, feeling the blood rush to his head. His arms slowly let him place himself on the ground. He laid down, legs still up against the wall, arms at his sides. Identity. A false identity. It had to be it. What else would that clue have been good for? But then how could he possibly find out his real identity? Only the general seems to know.

His head rolled to the side defeated, his eyes slowly closing. His eyes closed for a minute, before squinting slightly at an object underneath Raz's bed. Upon closer inspection, it was a small notepad, a diary even. Curiosity got to him, his legs fell down and he sat up, his eyes checking all directions and wandering to the door, then back to the diary. Slowly he crawled over, grasping the diary in his hands.

He was tempted to open it up and see what was hidden inside. It was weird, his heart was thumping a little faster than usual. He was used to this, right? It would just be like a little heist, after all a diary is like a small compact safe, concealing secrets and all. Yet, he felt uncomfortable just handling the book, turning it in his hands. He shrugged his head, he knew it wasn't the right thing to do.

Mercury put it on the bed, feeling a small weight drop from his heart. He sat in silence for a moment, turning to get back on his feet. His foot caught the covers, dropping the book from the bed. His head turned back to view the bed, spotting the diary on the ground, it's secrets revealed to the outside. Mercury quickly kneeled down, his eyes involuntarily scanning the pages presented.

His eyes stopped. Mercury. This entry was about him. He could clearly see his name on the page. His eyes once more scanned his surroundings, before turning back to the diary. His hands grasped it anew, shaking, urging him to read it. But his conscience won him over, as they closed the book in an instant.

Mercury cleaned after himself, stashing away Raz's belongings and organized his bed. Once he finished he felt a soft breeze coming through the window, ruffling his hair, as he felt something flutter beneath his foot. He quickly picked it up, viewing the piece of paper. Mercury gulped, as he identified the piece of paper. It was a death certificate.

Mikey. Fallen in combat. The sudden drop in temperature was unbelievable. It was like all of his senses shut down right then and there, yet- the real answer was far worse. In the door, Mercury felt a presence. His eyes slowly worked their way up to the door frame. Of all possible encounters, Raz was the one standing in front of him.

There was a moment of silence, uncertainty- dread. Mercury saw the usually calm and collected wolf bare his teeth and what could only be called cold blood lust seemingly run through every strain of hair on his back, as it raged upwards. Raz snatched the piece of paper from his hand, checking it for any damage, before checking the rest of his belongings.

Mercury all the while stood next by, fearing for the worst. It wasn't long until the wolf quite literally smashed one of the cupboards closed, turning his vicious glare to him. "GET OUT!", Mercury looked in horror, his spine feeling a chill it has never felt before. It froze him in place. Raz only took one step towards him. That was enough to send Mercury backwards, the sensation in his spine feeling like his frozen solid spine was breaking in all possible areas, obviously not helping the situation.

Before he knew it, Mercury walked down the hallway. He didn't have any moment to explain himself- like at all. Mercury knew he saw something he shouldn't but, he never expected such a reaction from Raz. It left him completely shook, it took him several minutes to calm down to a mostly normal level.

"MERCURY!", he was jolted awake by the scream of his name, checking around for the source of it. When his gaze lifted he stared back at a familiar face. Vernell? His eyes checked out the fox, before his mind got back to him. "Hey, sorry, was kind of lost in thought. What's up?", they strolled together further down the path.

"I wanted to ask, if you'd like to train together- Sam is still taking a break and Mason is nowhere to be seen.", he still felt a little down under, but he didn't want to concern the fox. Mercury tried to shake the feeling of uneasiness, nodding at Vernell. Ever since he first met them, he was scared of the three of them, but with just that one mission it kind of changed their dynamic a lot- and he was glad.

"Sure. I think I could use a little exercise. Never know when someone wants to spill your guts.", Mercury's gaze fell, practically whimpered the last part softly, it being barely audible. Vernell looked at him confused for a moment, before he chuckled leading the two of them to the training fields. The fox walked towards the provided equipment, signing Mercury to walk over.

They started out with some simple weight lifting, before they got to the sparring that he'd usually do with Raz or Amy. "Is something up?", Vernell could tell his mind was somewhere else, Mercury staring at him blankly. He was unsure whether he should bring up the whole deal he had with Raz or... "I feel slightly overwhelmed right now, that's all. I feel like a lot is going on at once and if I can't keep up, I'll disappoint a lot of people.", Vernell could feel the tension in the raccoon, as he walked over and planted a hand on his shoulder.

"Is this about what happened at Devistee's hideout?", Mercury couldn't fully muster what he meant, throwing him a questioning look. "A lot happened at the hideout... what are you thinking about?", Vernell smiled brightly at him, chuckling softly. "I'm talking about you hoping to prove yourself to the whole platoon, but maybe especially someone from my squad?", Mercury's heart thumped loudly in his head.

His eyes focused on Vernell, not believing his ears. "I saw some scribbled notes from Amy's report. Don't tell her, she would probably kill me...", Vernell laughed for a moment, his eyes returning to Mercury, seeing him still in a state of shock. He waved his hand in front of Mercury's eyes, finally getting a reaction out of him, as Mercury threw a punch he had held for a long time.

"Wow.", Vernell caught Mercury's fist in his palm. Mercury finally returned from his frozen state, looking him straight in his eyes. "I'm sorry.", Mercury quickly excused himself, drying off his sweat, as he turned to leave. "Hey, Mercury- wait!", his head turned slowly as he stopped, barely looking at the fox. "I didn't mean to make a joke of it. It seems to mean a lot to you and if I can help you in any way- then I want to.", Mercury turned to Vernell, a serious look in his eyes.

"I appreciate it, but-", how could you help me in this situation...? Mercury's gaze trailed over the ground aimlessly. "I could help you train your symbiosis.", yeah but how does that help- wait what!? Mercury looked back up at him in disbelief, the gaze of confusion clearly visible. Vernell walked a little closer. "I've seen Raz do these sort of meditation... let's call it 'rituals' before. Back then he wasn't always so- distant? I don't know.", he definitely peaked Mercury's interest, as he eyed him over.

"I'm sorry, I can't follow right now. What kind of training? Rituals? And what do you mean distant?", Vernell signaled him to slow down, each question after the other. "I think we've know each other long enough. So It should work like it did for them. I'll answer all you need to know, don't worry." Vernell signed him over, so Mercury slowly made his way to the fox.

"Now listen, Mercury. I'm no expert in these rituals, as I've only watched them like twice or so. It will get a bit emotional- and maybe a tad intimate. If you are comfortable knowing that and want to do this exercise, then I ask you- do you trust me?", Mercury looked back into the fox's eyes. The questions of what he is planning stacked in his head. "Sure...", Mercury stood still and watched the fox move around him. Vernell gestured for him to sit down.

"I've seen Mikey and Raz train like this. So stick with me.", Mercury's ears straightened up, his face turning to view Vernell. Mikey?! Vernell noticed his gaze. "I reckon you've heard his name and I guess you know of his fate. Your first answer- that's why he has become so distant. But we're just getting started.", Vernell stood behind him, Mercury kneeling in front of him. The fox placed his hands on Mercury's shoulders.

Mercury was unsure, if he should talk, maybe tell him about Raz's reaction to him finding that note. "Alright, for this to work I need you to clear your mind. You need to be focused, but not too focused on silence either.", those instructions surely felt paradoxical in nature. Vernell could see him cock his head slightly, knowing that meditation was hard to start off with such an introduction.

"Uhm- look, concentrate on your breathing. Just focus on your breathing for a while and when I start talking you concentrate on my words, your breathing fades away, but you don't forget to breath, alright?", Mercury could tell the fox was trying his best, but this really was a lot to start off...

Alright... breathe in- and out. Mercury tried to follow the instructions and even tried to rid himself of wording his thoughts. He continued for a few seconds, feeling an awkward shift of Vernell behind him, his hands moving on his shoulders. Focus. Mercury knew, if he could just make it work this would help everyone. No matter what, he needs to try what Vernell has planned.

"Mercury, can you hear me?", his eyes opened to the words, he could feel Vernell's words intruding his mind. "Yeah, I can.", Mercury heard him exhale softly behind him. "Shoot. We need to start over, I forgot to tell you. Don't open your eyes. Part of that is on me. I'll let you go a bit further, before I try communicating again. Don't try to actively talk- it'll happen on its own.", Mercury could feel his concentration fading. A little heads up on that would have been nice...

But he knew. They all needed this to happen. If this actually worked. It would solve quite a few of their problems. No matter how long they need to keep trying. Inhale- and exhale. Vernell left Mercury to breathe for a good few minutes, feeling the muscles in his shoulder relaxing, almost like his touch was now unknown. His presence hidden. Vernell tried to remember the way their rituals usually happened and began softly stroking over Mercury's shoulders.

"Mercury, can you hear me?", this time there was no answer, actually no real reaction whatsoever. Vernell only felt his muscles reacting to his movement. After a semi-long pause, he heard a soft: "Yes.". Good. Good. This felt more like it. At least from what Vernell could tell, Mercury seemed to be in the same meditative state he saw Mickey in.

Mercury could see- feel. He saw himself standing in a somewhat dimly lit room. It felt like an out of body experience. He didn't know, if it was all imagination. But he didn't let himself get caught on too much thoughts, it could break his focus. There was a room, that's all he needed to know. Where the room was or from where he could hear Vernell... didn't matter.

"You're doing good, Mercury. Now listen. Can you see yourself?", Mercury heard the fox's words, looking at himself in the room. "Yes, I am looking down at myself.", Vernell slightly frowned, sighing softly. "That is good, but keep your focus. Can you walk around the room? Just keep walking for a bit.", he just did as he asked, giving it too much thought would be problematic.

Mercury could see himself, as he walked around the room. His breathing continued. In and out. The room grew either brighter or darker, like a light source was fixed in a corner of the room. After walking for a bit, he looked around the room. He was curious about the light, walking straight towards it, but it felt like his steps couldn't take him any closer to it.

"Mercury, you've walked for a bit, yes? Let me ask again- can you see yourself?", Mercury frowned slightly, yes of course he could still see himself. But he did as he asked, looking down again, at his shoes, trousers, the pullover he found at the end of his bed this morning. All was there. When he wanted to look at his face it finally clicked. He was no longer watching from outside of the room, he was the one walking in it. When he realized, he could feel himself tense up a bit, the room growing brighter each passing second.

Vernell felt Mercury's muscles tense in his grasp, he couldn't believe it- it was working. He started to hush Mercury and apply the same motions he had seen the others use. Mercury calmed down at his touch, the room once more finding stability, the light source going back to the usual. Vernell had to think for a minute. He needed to explore the room, but he needed to make sure one last time, whether Mercury was up for this.

"Mercury the room ahead of you, the way you are the one exploring it. We'll 'ask' your symbiont to be apart of this. It will experience what you see, hear and feel whatever you do. Do you understand?", even though he probably only did so in his subconsciousness, he could feel himself gulp hard. This was a weird deal indeed. But also the first time he even felt so... in control.

"Yes.", Vernell kept apply the pressure to his shoulders, loosening the tenseness that might have toppled Mercury's focus. "Find it. From what I heard, there is always some sort of focus point, you need to find it and then you can start exploring from there.", Mercury guessed the focus point he mentioned might be the very light source he couldn't get any closer to. Finding it in this place was very unlikely however...

Mercury wandered around, he kept walking on and on and on. From 'outside' Vernell moved one of his hands to Mercury's face, covering his right side. Mercury could feel the sensation, very... very softly, seeing his sight dim just slightly. "We have time, just keep looking, there is no rush.", Mercury did just that, his 'covered' eye actually picking up something odd in his view, that he simply couldn't see before. It looked just... odd.

Yet, the closer he got to it, the more it looked like... Me? Mercury stopped a few steps away, looking over the person in front of him. Just like him, his doppelganger was sitting on the ground. He could now literally see 'himself' sitting just here, breathing in and out. "I've found... 'myself'?", Vernell got slightly excited, it seemed to work just as intended.

"Okay then get in front of yourself and place your hand on your- no wait, on its chest, tell me when you are ready.", Mercury slowly paced around the doppelganger, it looked like an exact copy, almost creepily so. He knelt down, face to face, as he placed his hand on its chest. Mercury took a deep breath for a moment. "Ready.", Vernell smiled, his hand moving from Mercury's shoulder to his chest.

Mercury felt the soft touch on his chest. "Open your right eye- very slowly.", he felt slightly anxious, not only because it could break his focus, but what would he be looking at in 'here'? But, so Mercury did, slowly opening his eye. He wasn't shocked, as exactly what he thought would actually happen did end up happening. The doppelganger opened his eye, slowly, just like him. Mercury could feel the color burning brightly in this dimly lit room.

Mercury was sure Vernell was doing something to him 'outside' otherwise he would be freaking out right now. The doppelganger seemed to start to move on its own, first looking around the room, then its open eye stopped on Mercury. It wanted to stand up, Mercury flinched slightly, as the doppelganger stopped in its tracks. It was only for a moment though, as Mercury retracted the hand from its chest and extended the hand to help it stand up.

The doppelganger held his hand, its eye never leaving Mercury. This was incredible. Scary, but incredible. Almost as if it could tell Mercury was frightened, the doppelganger extended its hand to Mercury's chest, the feeling slowly fading away, as he looked in its eye. Right, it can feel what he does...

"Mercury I reckon you are done introducing yourself- now look around. Explore the room for a bit. See if you can find any memories you might be able to share.", before he even knew what was happening, they were already caught in a memory. Mercury didn't know how it worked, but they were in a room he only recently got kicked out of. "No, back out- let's not-", his doppelganger let go of his chest, picking up a flattering piece of paper stuck under its foot.

Mercury's lip started twitching, his eyes looked at the paper it picked up. Mercury's head turned at the feeling of a soft breeze, looking to the door frame. "What are you seeing?", Vernell was left in the dark for longer, Mercury only letting out a soft whimper. Mercury walked to the door frame, like the memory was slowed down or just paused. He looked at the wolf, the way he bared his teeth. His hair raging upwards. A sudden scream erupted in his head: "GET OUT!"

The memory seemed to have skipped forward a bit, surprising not just him but his doppelganger alike. "I- I was in our quarters. Raz came in at the wrong time.", Mercury looked over at his doppelganger, the piece of paper in its hand. "I had found a small piece of paper, one of his belongings. I didn't mean to touch any of it, but he got mad. Like I had never seen before...", he whimpered out once more. "It was a death certificate. It read 'Mickey'.", Vernell exhaled, his eyes closing, as his hand moved back to Mercury's shoulder.

Mercury could feel the chill that he had that moment. He saw Raz turn around. It felt like it had slowed down again, Mercury paced over to Raz, looking up at the wolf, the motion having stopped exactly as he screamed at him. "I feel like I disappointed him. There were so many things going on that moment. I wanted to tell him I'm sorry. I feel like that moment shattered all of the trust I had worked so hard to earn with Raz."

Mercury felt his doppelgangers hand touch his shoulder, like it wanted to comfort him. "I know I need to face him, ask him to hear me out. But- I'm scared. I feel like he turned feral in that moment.", Mercury could swear he felt a tear come out of his eye. He looked at his doppelganger, seeing a tear flow down its face slowly. "Vernell can we go to another memory? I- this, I can't- not now.", Vernell understood and moving on might be a good idea.

"You only need to think about something else- but before that I want to let you know... Mickey was one of Raz's squad, a long time partner and buddy to many people here. When he died, so did a little part of Raz it seemed. I can't remember all of the details, but I'm sure Amy can tell you more about that.", he cleared his throat, starting to apply pressure back to Mercury's shoulder.

Mercury felt a weird sensation run through him, his surrounding suddenly resembling another location. He looked around, grasping his doppelgangers hand, it looking up at him for a moment. "I- wait...", Mercury looked down the long room, file cabinets all the way down in an orderly fashion.

Mercury watched as a few screws hit the floor right in front of him and his doppelganger. Through the vent opening they could see three people drop down into the room. Once they grasped their bearing they began looking around the room, checking a few cabinets. "No need to explain, sergeant Falconer. I know why you are here and I have to mention- an impressive use of your gadgets, as always.", Mercury whispered, as he walked with his doppelganger along side of General Ephilus.

They moved quickly, Mercury's mind moving through their conversations to a few key points, before the three- Amy, the general and him started moving back towards him and his doppelganger. "Sir? I believe Mercury's file belongs in the 'A' section?", Mercury looked at the general, as he spoke Amy's words to the effigy.

"The way he moved and looked at me... just- who am I?", Mercury turned away from the general, his eyes landing on his doppelganger. Mercury let go of the hand for a moment, getting closer, placing his hand on the doppelgangers face. Mercury stroked softly over its face, the brightness in its eye never shining any less colorful, than the time he first found it.

The memory faded and he quickly was faced with a new one, his eyes looking around a new room, before returning to his doppelganger. He was taken aback for a moment, his doppelganger- was a child. "I'll need to ask you a few questions. You can answer them by either saying yes or no or simply nodding. Understood?", he slowly let go of his doppelgangers hand, walking around the table, looking at the young turtle.

His doppelganger sat down at the table, covering his brightly lit eye from the sheer amount of light. Mercury vaguely listened to them talking to his doppelganger, who took his place in this memory. He walked over to Murray, seeing his friend not even notice him, as he made himself a sandwich. Suddenly he didn't hear anything coming from the guys any more, turning to his doppelganger.

It had turned in the chair, looking at Mercury. But this time it was sitting in Bentley's position. "Can I ask something first? Why do you want to know? Why this whole 'background check'?", those were his words... is his doppelganger asking him this? Mercury was unsure of how to react, but before he could, they found themselves back to normal, walking on a sidewalk.

He looked up to the sky, feeling soft droplets hit his face. It's raining. He turned to look around for himself, what was this memory? Finally he saw it, his doppelganger was on the other side, walking alongside- Sly! Oh no- he remembers now, what this memory was. His head turned down the road, spotting a very fast speeding car, that came down the road. Mercury tried to run, but only felt himself run in slow motion.

His doppelganger watched, Sly suddenly turning to walk across the road. The car came closer. Mercury tried to scream, a feeling of nausea and distress pressing through every fiber of his body. The doppelgangers eye looked at him, then to Sly. Before the car hit him, his doppelganger grabbed him off the road, Mercury and his doppelganger suddenly lying in a puddle, unable to move. Their muscles feeling like they have been melted off their very arms and legs.

The scenery changed to the inside of their hideout, where they suddenly were lying on the bed, covered in a towel. Mercury looked over to his doppelganger, unable to muster the feeling of appreciation for saving Sly, even if it only was in a memory. Mercury hugged him tightly, before seeing where they have landed.

If this is exactly like in his memory then... Mercury slowly turned his head, his doppelganger peeking over his side, onto the other bed. Oh my god... it was just like he remembered. Sly was lying there, in a mere towel, snoring loudly. Mercury blushed, wondering if his doppelganger can feel exactly what he does at that point. "Vernell, there is something I don't want my doppelganger to see, how can I change away quickly? Vernell-", Mercury closed his eyes several times, but nothing happened.

He looked up from the bed, seeing his doppelganger eye Sly, just like he did. Sly laid on the bed, one arm covering his eyes, the other placed over his abs. His tail was covering one of his legs, but that towel... it barely covered anything- to this day Mercury was unsure, if Sly did so intentionally. Besides Mercury remembered the clear bulge beneath the towel. God. Just as he turned, wanting to see his doppelgangers reaction, he crawled over him.

Mercury was perplexed for a moment, his doppelganger getting real close to his sleeping friend. He got up beside him, wanting to stop anything weird from happening. The way his doppelganger eyed his friend caused a weird mix of curiosity and tenseness in Mercury. When he actually raised his hand, daring to touch him, Mercury almost freaked, stopping his hand. The doppelganger watched him closely, as he was closing his eyes in shame.

Mercury felt his own towel grip loosen, quickly letting go to fix it. As he looked back up, his doppelganger had done exactly what he intended, as he looked back at Mercury. He can't actually remember this moment clear enough, if it actually ended up like this. But seeing his doppelganger able to touch him in his memory... something Mercury had dreamt of for so long. Did it happen? Did he actually get to feel what he had seen so many times? His hand sliding down over Sly's abs.

Mercury hadn't noticed, but his doppelganger placed him down, exchanging his hand with his own. Suddenly he felt a touch on his shoulder, breath going past his ear. Sly? Mercury could see Sly's eyes looking back into his, his hand moving on top of his, moving ever so slowly down. The lust clearly reflecting in his eyes- Mercury stopped his hand though. No. This is only a memory, this didn't even happen. His doppelganger viewed him closely.

"You know how I feel for him, you can feel the uncertainty I have of how he feels about me? Is that what you wanted to show me by this? I can't do this. I can't.", his doppelganger moved around him, Sly's breath still present on his ear. His doppelganger sat down in front of him, grasping his free hand.

It started smiling at him, spreading a weird influx of happiness in Mercury. Suddenly everything around him vanished, a small gust of wind causing him to blink a few times. When he looked around, only the bed he sat on and the bright fixated light remained. He was back in the original darkened room.

The room slowly but surely brightened, until the sensation ended, Mercury finally opening both his eyes again. The sun was still high but had almost set, seemingly he must have been under for a long time. "Vernell, oh my god. You won't believe it! That was awesome!", he slowly turned his head, seeing Vernell's head on his shoulder.

His one hand still covered Mercury's eye. "We were in so many places it felt awesome. I still have so many questions- oh my god. I didn't even ask for 'his' name.", he felt Vernell breathing heavy, almost a bit... excited. Finally Mercury opened up to his surrounding, following Vernell's eyes. Oh my god. Seemed like Vernell wasn't the only one excited, maybe because of that last memory he shared...

Not only that, but when Mercury's sense of touch returned to his arms, he could tell why he was breathing a little heavier and... excited. The hand in his dream had stopped, his real hand however- He quickly retracted his hand from Vernell, a mix of shame and awkwardness taking over. "I- uhm- I got nothing- I'm sorry...", his blush took a tremendous fashion, all the while it burned with a slight touch of fear.

"I... that definitely caught me off guard. But that's alright, I told you it might get intimate. And you can trust me, I won't tell anyone.", Mercury almost broke down at his words, he never expected to find someone to understand him like this. "Thank you, Vernell.", a small tear formed at his eye. Vernell took away the hand still covering his one eye, showing Mercury his face in a mirror. "Wow, why is it glowing?", Mercury felt around his eye with his hand, amazed at the bright coloration.

"That means it worked, you've formed a better bond with it now. Of course it still needs work, but this is a great start.", Mercury smiled back at Vernell through the mirror, which he held in place for a tad longer than expected. "Still awkward, isn't it?", yep- Mercury would like to sink into the earth right then and there. "You have no idea. I've never been hard in front of someone else...", Mercury could see Vernell shift back slightly, scratching at his chin.

"You know...I said, if I can help you in any way- then I want to. If it would make you feel any less awkward we could... you know...", oh my god- oh my god- abort. Mercury could barely bring out a functional sentence. "Uhhh- I- I uhm- Vernell... it's just like... yes, I would love to, but the awkwardness is killing me. It's just not the place and not the time. I never would have thought to turn anyone down, especially someone so cute...", Vernell had to smile brightly at his comment.

"I get it, besides you seem to have someone planned in already- from your memory?", Vernell's smile grew wider, seeing Mercury's blush growing brighter. Mercury nodded at his words. "I think I know who that lucky person is.", lucky... oh Vernell... I mean it. I would really love to, but this is too much right now. Vernell helped him stand up, as the two started making their way back to the hallways.

"Vernell?", the fox turned to face Mercury, who unexpectedly planted a kiss on his cheek. The fox was simply taken aback, especially once he saw Mercury trying his hardest not to blush. Wow... When he lowered away from the kiss, Vernell's hand moved over his cheek. "Thank you, for that... for everything. You've really helped me out today, like really. And thank you for the offer... never say never, right?", a smile went across Vernell's face, eyeing Mercury up and down.

"You know, I would like 'this' to go away, before we get back to the crowd, that really didn't help.", Mercury followed Vernell's gesture, blushing and almost losing himself to laughter. Vernell stuck his hands into his side pockets, as the two strolled down the hallways towards the cafeteria. It was nice, as it was one of the first times Mercury actually got to spent some time with Vernell alone and was able to share some of his memories with his. They would definitely do this again.

End of Chapter Twenty.