"Heh, I gotta say, first Rajan, then the Cooper Gang, and now you. Priceless... It's kinda funny how easy it was to play you, Rai-Rai." Kisara chuckled.
Rai rolled her eyes. "You can't really play someone if they didn't trust you to begin with, Kisara, and what did I say about calling me that?" She countered, her mask having been removed so that the two were face to face.
"Very true, though that does beg the question: Why'd you agree to work with me in the first place, hm?"
Rai frowned. "It's as I said, you were just a means to an end, that's all, so stop getting it twisted."
"Yes, you did say that, but my point still stands." Kisara replied.
Rai just rolled her eyes again, scoffing softly. "Well, I suggest that you start digging."
"Hm? Meaning?" Kisara questioned.
"Your grave." Rai replied. "Because the moment I get out of this damn prison, I will come for you, and trust me when I say that I will make your life a living hell, just as you've done to me. So, I'll say again, start digging your grave, that way I have something to bury you in, you backstabbing whore."
"Oh? And who's the one locked in chains again?" Kisara smirked.
"Oh, really? You're gonna start that up when you're the one who looks like the cheap whore in your little slut outfit. I mean seriously, how does Interpol even let you get away with wearing that?" Rai scoffed. "At least I still have my dignity, but I guess you're too simple-minded to really know what that is, huh?"
Kisara glared. "Tch... Of course you'd say something like that because you just don't understand a sense of style..." She rolled her eyes. "Seriously, you haven't changed one bit..."
Rai suddenly perked up, grinning slyly. "What, no snarky remark?" She chuckled. "You certainly haven't changed, and neither has your dimwittedness."
The feline gave a low hiss, causing Rai to chuckle again. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I strike a nerve? I see you still have your short temper too, huh, Kiki?"
"Shut the hell up!" Kisara snapped.
Rai smirked. "If you seriously get this worked up over some petty taunting, it'll be all the more fun once the real show begins."
Kisara scoffed. "Well, good luck trying to escape the Contessa's prison, because you'll never get out of there with your sanity intact, no one ever has."
"You seem to forget who you're talking to, Kisara. I'm the Scarlet Rose and no prison has ever kept me for very long, so this will be no different."
"Then you are aware that it's a maximum security fortress, right?"
"Yeah, and? You really think that's going to shake me, because you're wrong. I mean, come on, within every prison lies between one and two very crucial flaws."
"And what might that be?" Kisara crossed her arms over her chest.
"There always an exit, even if no one can see it. All you have to do is find it and, voila, freedom. It's really not that complicated. As for the second, well, come on, even you know that within every system, there comes its own set of flaws." Rai replied.
Kisara gave a bitter chuckle in response. "In that case, I'll personally see to it that you never escape this prison."
Rai chuckled. "And is that a challenge?"
Kisara merely shrugged her shoulders, the fox smirking.
"Fine, then challenge accepted." Rai said.
Kisara perked up. "And the stakes?"
"Two weeks. If I'm not out of the Contessa's prison by the end of two weeks, well, then you're free to do with me as you wish. However, if I just so happen to find a way out before that two week mark, then you'd best prepare yourself to be put in a shallow grave."
The feline chuckled. "Alright, I'll humor you and accept your little challenge, but if I may add to those stakes – if I do win, then you will be subjected to intense hypnosis without so much as a simple plea. And if you do win, then sure, I'll prepare myself, but given the circumstances, I won't really stress about it."
Rai chuckled softly. "Come on, Kisara, you've known me for years, and you've seen that I'm fully capable of escaping any sort of situation given enough time."
Kisara gave a sinister smirk. "Oh? Then where were those escape artist skills with Rajan, hm?"
Clang!
Rai had suddenly lunged forward, but because of the chains binding her wrists, they made a loud clattering sound when they were abruptly pulled taut, the fox just out of reach of Kisara, who chuckled. "It seems I've struck a nerve this time."
Rai let out a dark growl. "I'll be glad when I can finally gut you like a goddamn fish... Don't push your luck with me, bitch."
"You have fun with that, but first, you've gotta escape the Contessa's prison, and the chances of that happening are slim to none, so good luck. I'll be so very delighted when I get to watch your mind slowly break until you've become our perfect puppet." Kisara mused.
Rai growled again, lowered this time as she grit her teeth together. And I'll be glad when I can finally put this damn cat down once and for all...
It was then though that the truck the two were riding in came to an abrupt halt as she placed her mask back on her face. Kisara stood up as she dusted her legs off and adjusted her cleavage before unlocking the shackles that held the fox, only to put her in handcuffs shortly after as she forced Rai out of the truck. However, as Kisara was pushing Rai along, they just so happened to pass by Sly and Murray, in which the feline stopped right then and there, smirking. "Go ahead and say your little goodbyes, because you'll never get the chance to do so again." She said in a bitter tone, shoving Rai forwards as she stumbled a bit.
"Rai, I'm so sorry... This is all my fault..." Sly then apologized.
"Come on, Sly, you know that's not true. I mean, none of us meant for any of this to happen, but we will find a way out of this, I promise..." Rai tried to reassure him. "And, Sly?"
"Yes, Rai?"
"I need you to promise me one thing..." She said.
"Anything..."
Rai lifted her head, gazing into Sly's eyes through her mask. "Please, stay strong. Don't let them break you, no matter what happens, got it? Stay strong, for me..."
Sly nodded just before Kisara rolled her eyes, only to roughly grab a chunk of Rai's hair, causing her to gasp. "Gahh!" Rai exclaimed.
"Rai!" Sly gasped.
"Alright, that's enough, "lovebirds." God, you two make me sick..." Kisara spat before throwing the fox onto the floor, but she landed right on her injured arm, crying out in pain.
"Aahhh!" Rai cried out, gritting her teeth. "You damn bitch...!" She hissed, forcing herself up from the floor.
After motioning for Sly and Murray to be taken away, Kisara had then grabbed onto Rai's chin, staring into the mask covering her eyes. "You're nothing without that damn ringtail at your side, huh? Heh! And here I thought you could handle yourself without anyone else. Perhaps I was wrong." Kisara taunted. "Well, if You can't even last a couple of hours without your precious little ringtail, then you won't last very long here, all on your own, I guarantee it."
"Go to hell..." Rai hissed, only to have Kisara suddenly knee her in the jaw as the fox fell backwards onto the floor, spitting out a bit of blood from biting down on her tongue. "I've lasted on my own before, so this will be no different. This so-called "prison" won't hold me but for so long before I finally bust out of here, and the moment I do, I'm coming for you, Kisara, because you can just go straight to hell, where you belong, you damned whore..."
Kisara chuckled, grabbing Rai by the hair again as she forced the fox onto her feet. "Go put this street rat away." The feline hissed as she threw Rai to some guards that began to lead her away.
Rai spit out some more blood, licking it from her lips with a small smirk. "Heh, at the very least, it was nice seeing you again, Kiki..." Kisara instantly stopped dead in her tracks, clenching her fist. "Well, it was nice seeing you as a so-called "friend" at least... It'll be even nicer when I finally get the chance to end you like the blood-sucking thundercunt that you are...!" Rai hissed.
Kisara grit her teeth together, her fist trembling with rage before she suddenly smirked, chuckling. "Make sure she never gets out of here, and be sure she suffers slow and painfully while you're at it." She hissed before walking off.
"Inmate 348, Scarlet Rose. Full name, Raiko Allison Vulpes. Charged with countless homicides, robberies, and working with Sly Cooper and the Cooper Gang." The crow read off as the Contessa circled around the masked fox who was sat on her knees.
"Scarlet Rose... Such a pathetic name... I sentence you to life in prison and a full treatment of hypnosis."
"And I'd sooner be tortured to death than eat any of your tainted spices..." Rai hissed.
"Is that so?" The Contessa smirked. "Bring in the ringtail!" She then called just before Sly was forcibly brought into the room, Rai's eyes widening.
Sly!
He was bounded by chains around both his wrists and ankles, a muzzle over his face with a gag in his mouth so he couldn't speak, only mumble inaudible nonsense. As Rai stared at the current state Sly was in and what they had done to him, her eyes narrowed, clenching her fists as they were bound behind her back. "You heartless wench... I hope to God you burn in hell, you sadist!" She hissed.
The Contessa chuckled again. "Well, let us see who is hiding behind that mask of yours, hm?" She reached out to grab the mask, ready to remove it for the big reveal, but Rai quickly rolled backwards onto her feet, just barely slipping away from the Contessa.
"And I suggest that you stay the hell away from me." Rai warned.
The spider merely snapped her claw, and before anyone could react, Sly's head was yanked backward just a blade was held up against his throat, Rai gasping. "Urgh!? Sly!" She exclaimed.
"Mmph!?" Sly mumbled in protest.
"Slice his throat open." The Contessa ordered.
Rai gasped. "No, wait!" She demanded.
The Contessa held her claw up in pause, Rai stealing another glance at Sly as her eyes softened, only to then glare. Damn it! This soulless wench isn't giving me any means of escaping this... She cursed herself. I guess it doesn't matter anymore then... As it stands, my mask now seems so null and void at this point...
Rai sighed. "Fine, you win, just...don't hurt him." She said defeatedly.
Slowly, the fox got down on her knees, ready to accept her fate. The Contessa smirked as she tread over to Rai, reaching out as she grasped the mask on her face, swiftly removing the mask. Rai's bangs fell back into place once her mask was removed, revealing her glaring emerald eyes. "My, my, such a pretty face, for a murderer..." The Contessa mused. "Take them both away, but place Cooper in The Hole!"
"Ugh!?" Rai gasped. "What the hell, Contessa!? I let you have your way with me, so let him go!" She exclaimed.
The Contessa just scoffed. "I have no obligation to make any sort of agreements with a criminal. Now, get this worthless scum out of my sight." She waved.
Rai growled, pouncing to her feet as she began to rush the Contessa, only for her shadow guards to quickly grab onto the fox, preventing her from reaching the spider, though she sure as hell put up a fight. "You lying bitch! You're just as cynical as Kisara! I'll end you, Contessa, you hear me!? I'll end you just like Kisara and Neyla! I swear it!" Rai bellowed as she was being dragged off, a guard taking her mask from the Contessa.
Just as the cuffs were being removed from Rai's wrists, she felt something clamp onto her ankle just before she was thrown into a cell along with her cane and mask. Rai growled, propping herself up on her arm as she glared while the cell door was slammed shut and locked, the guard walking off. When the crow was gone, the fox pushed herself to sit up as she strapped her mask to her belt before getting to her feet, brushing herself off and picking up her fallen cane. After she finished dusting herself off, Rai did a quick scan of her cell, merely just taking little glances at everything before she noticed a barred window in the back, causing her to sigh irritably as she ran a hand through her hair, gripping a chunk of it in between her gloved fingers.
"So, the Scarlet Rose, huh?" A female voice then chirped.
Rai quickly released the chunk her hair as it fell back into place and turned to what appeared to be a white rabbit laying on her stomach on the top bed, her chin in her palm with her legs crossed as they were bent upward. She had snow white colored fur and long hair to match with her short, fluffy ball tail wiggling back and forth. Her bangs framed her face along with bright aqua blue eyes. As the bunny was laid on the bed, her free hand was playing with a small knife, indicating that she most likely enjoyed toying with sharp objects, or something along those lines.
"Yeah, I'm the Scarlet Rose..." She said, the rabbit leaping down from the top bunk as she closed the knife in her hand and stuffed it in her pocket.
"Name's Brianna Hops, inmate 164, charged with several robberies of rare and priceless items and then selling said items on the black market, but you may just call me Bri for short if you fancy that. But now the question here is who are you, Foxy, because you are way too pretty to get caught for something big, but I could also be wrong of course..." The bunny smirked.
"Uh, just call me Raiko Vulpes, inmate 348, charged with countless homicides, robberies, and working with the Cooper Gang, and just "Rai" is fine."
"Well, well, color me impressed." Brianna praised. "So then, I take it you've got something goin' on with the infamous ringtail, huh?"
"It's nothing like that, it's...complicated." Rai gave a hesitant reply.
"Whatever helps ya sleep at night... But in any case, welcome to the Contessa's prison."
Rai just scoffed. "You mean this daycare?"
Brianna laughed in response. "Sure, daycare, let's just go with that, Vulpes."
"Well, Bri, care to tell me what this stupid thing on my ankle is?" Rai asked, lifting up her left foot.
"Ah, that. Well, it's a tracker, obviously." Brianna replied. "I'm sure I don't need to explain what a tracker is, right?"
Rai shook her head. "No, I got it." She replied. "So, basically, if we go anywhere we're not supposed to, the alarm on this thing will go off, right?"
"See, ya got it." Brianna chuckled. "Now, since we got some time, tell me about yourself, yeah?"
Rai glanced up at Brianna for a moment before giving a small shrug. "Why the hell not..."
As the time passed, Rai and Brianna got to know each other a little better, talking about all their adventures as thieves and whatnot. They seemed to have a few things in common, like what they preferred to steal, types of heists they pulled, and stuff like that. However, because the two had kinda lost track of time talking, they perked up when they heard the lock on the cell door suddenly click. Rai cautiously got up from the bed and slowly approached the cell door, only to find that it was surprisingly unlocked, sending a glance over to Brianna.
"It's unlocked?" Rai questioned.
"Guess it's free time already." Brainna said, hopping up from the bed. "C'mon, follow me, Foxy."
She chuckled. "Funny... I always called Carmelita that too..."
"You mean Inspector Carmy, right?" Chris smirked as she exited the cell, Rai following after the rabbit.
"I take it you know her?"
"Heh! Who doesn't know that high-strung cop?"
"Fair point..." Rai chuckled a bit.
The two ended up going to where all the other female inmates usually do during this time, though Rai just kinda sat in a nearby corner and scanned around the large room, getting a good image of the others she was basically trapped in there with. Rai wanted to see if she knew anyone there, but considering she's only been in a prison for maybe a couple days or so, she never really got the chance to ever socialize with any of the other inmates, so this was kinda pointless... She merely sighed and leaned against the wall, crossing both her arms and legs as she moved on to try and think of a way out of that prison, that is, until Brianna had suddenly sat down next to her.
"So, Vulps, how many prisons have you been in, if any?" Brianna asked, practically out of the blue.
"Vulps..." Huh... That's a new one... Rai noted.
"A few, though I never really stuck around long enough to get to know anyone. However, if I may, I feel it's worth mentioning that among every prison, it always has one thing in common, and that is a means of escaping. Now I just have to figure out where this prison's escape point is..."
"Every prison, huh?" Brianna leaned back against the wall. "Well, you ain't necessarily wrong, but trying to get out of this prison ain't gonna be easy, I'll say that much."
Rai then had a thought. "Hey, Bri, you know your way around this prison pretty well, right?" She asked.
"Well, yeah, like the back of my hand, why?"
Rai perked up, grinning. "In that case, do you know how to get to Cell Block D?"
"I know the way actually." A female voice chimed in, the two glancing over toward the voice.
It was a brown squirrel with chocolate brown hair going just a bit past her shoulders, her bangs framing cute red eyes. She had a large, bushy tail that curled in and small ears on her head, little squirrel teeth poking out from under her upper lip. Overall, she seemed pretty innocent looking, and that cute face she had completed her look; it kinda made Rai wonder how someone so innocent looking ended up in the Contessa's prison, though she couldn't say much considering how gorgeous she was herself...
"And might I know your name?" Rai asked.
"Manners from a murderer, eh?" She grinned, placing a hand on her hip.
"Just because I'm an assassin and a thief doesn't mean I don't know how to be polite." Rai replied.
"Fair enough." The squirrel acknowledged. "Well, my name is Sakura Squirrel and I know the way to Cell Block D; I go to see my boyfriend there all the time." She said. "What, you got a boyfriend you're just itchin' to see or somethin' too?"
"Nah, her boy's in The Hole." Brianna chimed in.
"Oh, you mean that raccoon, Sly Cooper?" Sakura smirked as some of the other girls gasped before squealing quietly.
Rai sighed. "It's not like that, we're just partners, that's all." She defended. "And before I forget, I'm Raiko Vulpes, by the way, but just Rai is fine."
"Uh-huh..." Sakura grinned wider. "Well anyhow, I can actually show you how to get the The Hole if that's where you're headed."
"Really?" Rai perked up.
"Sure, just follow me, Miss Vulpes." The squirrel then turned to leave as Rai quickly followed behind her.
Sakura led Rai through various passageways, making sure to stay out of sight of the guards and spotlights as not to get caught, though the squirrel had done this so many times, she knew the trick to doing it, in which Rai seemed to catch onto. When they finally stopped, Sakura moved an object out of the way, revealing another passageway as the two walked through, until she stopped, turning to face the fox.
"This is far as I can go. In order to get to The Hole, keep following this passage then hang a left. After that, take the second right and the first left and there you are."
Rai easily memorized the simple directions as she nodded. "Got it. Thanks, Sakura, I owe you."
"No need. Just tell Cooper I said hi if you get the chance."
"Right." She nodded.
"Good luck, Rai, just make sure to be back before free time is over or else the eight-legged bitch will flip her shit. Oh, and be wary of that anklet too, because if you wander too far out of your designated area, the alarm will go off, so I would suggest you make things quick and get back before that alarm sounds." She gave her a friendly warning before moving the object back into place, leaving Rai by herself.
Once Rai was on her own again, she turned, a determined look on her face. There's has be a way out of here, there's just has to... I refuse to lose my sanity to this place, not before I've had the chance to finally put my inner demons to rest. However, before I can do that, I've gotta at least check on Sly. I have to make sure he's alright... Rai quickly got moving, making her way to where Sly was being held captive. Just hang on, Sly... I'll figure out a way to get us out of here, I swear on my life...