Sly Cooper and the Happy Campers Orphanage Chapter Five: The Jig Is Up, a sly cooper fanfic

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Sly Cooper or any characters or any stuff associated with this game. All that belongs to Sucker Punch and Sony, after all, I am just a mere fangirl writing a fanfic! Note: I don't own ANY copyrighted content except the fictional characters I made up for this (namely, the villains and other nameless folks).

(Chapter Five: The Jig Is Up)

"Sly Cooper?" The name fell off Carmelita's tongue like sweet honey as she whispered it to him. "That's your name, isn't it?" Carmelita added in an even lower whisper. Sly quickly nodded. "We might have a lot to catch up on, including Clo—"

"If we're going to talk about that kind of stuff having to do with...Cooper, it shouldn't be here," Sly whispered back. Carmelita nodded in agreement. "Let's go when they're not looking then!"

Carmelita was being led by Sly. She couldn't believe this was even happening. Of all the people to escort her out of a public area, it just HAD to be her precious Cooper.

'No! Your rival!' A voice inside Carmelita's head snapped. 'You're just here to question him and see if he remembers ANYTHING! No more, no less.'

The vixen couldn't help but notice though. It wasn't very often she actually got to talk to Sly one-on-one without it being an accusation of certain crimes. Carmelita couldn't help but notice how unusually attractive (and helpless) Sly looked when he wasn't in his thief garb. The green sweater he was wearing brought out the brown in his eyes. Those eyes...those mesmerizing eyes...whenever she saw them, she fell into a dreamlike state...just thinking about them...

'SNAP OUT OF IT, YOU IDIOT!' Carmelita mentally slapped herself. She had to stop this. She didn't care how many times she had to repeat it to herself—she was just here on business for questioning. She was here as a detective and an inspector, not as a single woman looking for a husband. 'I hope I can say something to him about Clockwerk soon, that way I can stop thinking about him.'

"Here we are!" Sly announced.

Before Carmelita knew it, he opened up the door into his small room. The vixen paused for a moment, pondering whether this was a good idea or not.

"Come on! I can't wait here all day!"

Carmelita shrugged. Why not? It's not like she'd let anything inappropriate happen. Just questioning, it was. Nothing to worry about...Something just occurred to her: if Sly didn't really remember anything, she was going to have a hard time asking him about anything. Carmelita stepped into the room as Sly quickly shut it and locked it tight.

"You want to sit down?" Sly asked. Carmelita shook her head.

"I'm just fine. I need to stretch my legs after that long car ride..." Carmelita paused for a moment as Sly took a seat on the edge of the bed. "Sly, I have a few questions I have to ask you," Carmelita explained.

"Hmph! Ask away!" Sly answered. "I doubt I'll be any help!" Carmelita sighed as she pulled a strand of hair out of her face and pulled out a tape recorder. She quickly switched it on and set it on "record".

"Witness's name: S—Daniel Smith. Daniel, were you at the Smith Bank on the night of July 20th?" Carmelita held the speaker end of the tape recorder not too far off from Sly's mouth.

"I...I don't know. It's all a blur," Sly replied. His ears were down. Carmelita frowned, shutting off the recorder and placing it back in her pocket where it had first come from.

"You really can't remember anything, can you?" Sly shook his head.

"I don't know who to trust anymore. Everyone I knew disappeared before my eyes and if they were still there in front of me, I wouldn't know. I'm blinded now. I can't see anything." Sly sighed. He was leaning into his paws. "Carmelita...you're the only one I can see."

"When did you first remember me, Sly?"

Sly went on to tell her about the segment of the story with the five through seven year olds where he had first introduced her. He was careful to add how the name had just seemed to drift into his mind at no warning whatsoever. Carmelita seemed to actually be quite surprised that she was the first one he'd remembered.

"Sly..." There she went again. She was zoning out. The unwanted feeling was swallowing her up and memories of that kiss back in Russia filled her mind.

"Carmelita..." Sly stood up from his seat and pulled Carmelita's paw into his own. The two of them stared, eyes blinking at each other. Sly didn't know what this feeling was, but it felt familiar...

[A ten second head start...that's what she gave me. Instead of running though...I kissed her and cuffed her by her own cuffs with the railing right next to her...Was it something I had always wanted to do though? And why would she give me a ten second head start though? What happened before that?

The inspector suddenly seemed shook up as she realized she was leaning in towards Sly. She shook her head and let go of his hand. This was all wrong. She knew she wasn't supposed to do things like this on official police business.

"Sorry, Sly! I better go!" Carmelita quickly dashed towards the door and undid the lock in it. Before Sly could stop her, her footsteps grew further and further away.

After trying to think for a few moments, Sly gave up and headed downstairs. He had to get back to work.

(Carmelita's worries...)

Madam Teresa took a peek through the door to the backyard. There was still no sign of "Mr. Smith". She had been looking around for the last forty five minutes, enraged that he had evaded her so many times. No worker at the orphanage had been so successful in staying out of her way. Usually, she could easily pin down anyone in an instant, but this was quite different.

"I can't believe I almost did that to Sly..."

Madam Teresa pivoted on her foot and saw a vixen stalking down the hallway. Her boots clunked on the wooden floor as she passed quickly. Madam Teresa smirked and started following the vixen, being as quiet as possible as not to be caught.

"I hope Cooper's not mad at me for what happened..." the vixen mumbled. Madam Teresa was grinning. She had just found out important information. Now THIS was worth reporting to the boss about.

Madam pulled out a tape recorder that was in her pocket and began recording.

"It must be hard for Sly right now...he can't remember the Cooper name...He can't remember his thieving days...I hope he does...Police work is boring without chasing him...Ever since he forgot everything, it's like he's not Sly Cooper anymore, just this Daniel Smith everyone thinks he is..."

Satisfied with her work, Madam stopped recording and retreated over behind a corner. Shutting off the recorder, she slipped it into her pocket...This new secret more than made up for "Daniel's" absence. Now if she was lucky enough, she could round him off in the backyard...

(A dream explained...)

Sly made his way back to the backyard. Ms. Deuducle had gone back to her desk in the lobby, Sly noticed. Nothing much else had seemed to happen while he was gone. Come to think of it, no one had seemed to notice that he had disappeared and if they did, they didn't seem too worried.

"Hey, Daniel! Can we talk now?" Cody demanded when Sly joined him at the fence. Not wanting to hear him yell again, Sly quickly nodded.

"What's wrong?" Sly asked. Cody shook his head.

"You know, I thought of Sly Cooper again...Last night, I had this dream. He was sitting on my lap, just like in the old days when I first worked at the orphanage and Sly had temporarily lost his ability to speak [from the trauma of watching his father die]. We were sitting right on the edge of the sandbox, like you and Charlotte were. Suddenly, he was gone before my eyes," Cody explained.

"Did anything else happen after that?"

"Yes. Instead, I was left with nothing. When I looked up, I saw him running. He was running from everything—his friends, the police—just about anything you can name...As soon as he stopped running, he fell over and gave up, dying right there after realizing how meaningless his life was. ...that's why I yelled earlier...I didn't know what to think when the children mentioned him earlier...I don't want them to be like him."

Sly nodded thoughtfully as he was taking this all in.

"They won't, Cody. You just have to teach them right from wrong." Sly's ears went down as Cody glanced over at the raccoon.

"What's wrong, Dan?" Sly shook his head, but his ears wouldn't go back up. It was as if he was so depressed today that they were stuck that way.

"It's nothing." Cody placed a hand on Sly's shoulder.

"It doesn't look like nothing..." Cody trailed off. He wore a bleak smile as he sighed. "You can tell me anything, you know?" Sly shrugged Cody's hand off.

"Maybe I don't want to tell you..." Before Cody could say anymore, Sly walked away...

(A confrontation...)

Madam Teresa opened up the door to the backyard. And there was her target, after so long. She had a lot to say to him. There he was, innocently walking away from Mr. Bryan: Sly Cooper. Teresa was going to ask him about the Clockwerk parts, but first, she had to take him inside...

Madam walked up to Sly and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Why, hello, Mr. Smith. I haven't seen you all day!" Madam Teresa greeted. Sly turned around and didn't like what he was seeing. The expression on Madam's face seemed like something bad would happen to him.

"Nice to see you too, Madam," Sly greeted back. He was trying to remain cool and laid back.

"Why don't we have a meeting up in my office?" Before Sly could even run, she grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the hallway. She stopped, right in the middle of the corridor and pinned Sly against the wall as hard as she could. "The jig is up! I know who you REALLY are, COOPER!"

"PROVE IT!" Sly was struggling to get out of her grip, but for Madam's age, she was surprisingly strong. The pressure on his shoulders was getting tighter and tighter with each passing moment. It was almost painful.

Releasing one paw from Sly's shoulder, the stinging pain went away as the headmistress pulled the tape recorder out of her pocket. She promptly pressed the play button and to Sly's horror, Madam HAD found proof...and it was from someone he thought he could trust...

"No...how could she do that to me?" Sly's brows furrowed, making him glare down at the floor. Madam was about to correct him, but them she kept her mouth shut. Teresa was having too much fun torturing him. "WHY DID SHE DO IT?"

"Oh...if only you knew, Sly. I paid her a meager lump sum if she would answer the question for me. It surprised me how greedy she is!" Madam lied. She smirked, placing the tape recorder back in her pocket and pressing Sly even harder against the rock solid wall.

"Why would you care who I am?"

"Well, my friends and I are looking for some certain parts...Specifically, the parts to the mechanical owl, Clockwerk. And when we heard you took him down yourself..." Madam paused. She wasn't going to get anywhere this way. "WHERE ARE THE CLOCKWERK PARTS?"

Before Sly knew it, he was slammed against the other door-less wall. His head ached. He had been thinking too much today and now this...

"Who is Clockwerk?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME! WHERE ARE THE PARTS, COOPER?"

"WHAT PARTS?"

"CLOCKWERK! PARTS! WHERE ARE THEY?"

"LET GO OF ME!"

Sly finally found the strength to push Madam off. He rubbed his sore shoulders as he escaped down the corridor and began heading towards the lobby. Sly ran as fast as his legs could take him. As far as he was concerned, he had shaken off Madam for now, but he wouldn't be able to if he stayed within the premises of the orphanage.

Out of the lobby and down the abandoned driveway he ran...

("Must be that age")

Cody looked over at the door to inside the building. A disgruntled Madam Teresa came out. Her hair had many strands astray and her paws shook. Cody had just assumed that she had just finished yelling at Daniel. To his surprise though, Madam stalked over to Cody. Usually, she would go and gripe in her office...

"Madam?" Cody stood up with his back straight.

"Where is Cooper?" Cody's ears perked up in surprise.

"Excuse me?"

"Where is he?"

"Who?"

"COOPER!"

"Cooper who?"

"SLY COOPER!" Cody sighed. There was no way she really meant Sly Cooper. Last time he checked, he hadn't seen any odd looking shadows around.

"Poor, Madam...I think your age is finally getting to you..." Cody patted Madam on the back and hugged her. Teresa pushed him away and made Cody crash into the fence. "You know Sly Cooper has gone absent for the last two to three weeks! Perhaps you need to go lay down!" Before Madam could say anymore, Cody pushed her forward inside the building and closed the door.

"I should have pulled out the evidence..." Teresa trailed off as she headed down to the lobby. "But I have to catch him again..."

(To be alone...)

Sly had been running for quite a long time, now taking a break every ten minutes. He must've been running for a long time because it was beginning to grow dark out. The streetlights were on, so Sly could make out some of the buildings. It was a very starry night, but the moon was gone. The streets were bare because everyone else was at home. Sly was alone once again.

'Is this the life of Daniel Smith? To be alone because he is Sly Cooper?' Sly mentally questioned as he looked to his left.

There, he saw an old looking home. It was actually quite large, which was unusual in a small town like Lauderville. Almost like a section of a mansion had been taken out. Sly looked for any signs in anyone living in it, but he could find none.

The raccoon walked down the dirt path that led to the home and found that there weren't any cars parked. Nothing seemed to be there either. Sly walked onto the porch and found the mailbox. He read the name on it carefully...Cooper.

'Was this my home?' Sly wondered as he opened the door.

Sly walked into the dark home. It was apparent no one had been here for ten years. The place was extremely dusty, but it would have to do. Sly would have to stay here for the night if he was to evade Madam Teresa. He proceeded inside and looked around for a light.

While Sly was not able to spot a light switch in the pitch black, he did feel a fireplace in the spacious common room. Sly quickly lit it and sat down in a large, red armchair in front of it. Leaning back in it, the raccoon's eyes were becoming droopier by the minute. He was extremely tired from all that running and hiding. Now was his time to rest... His eyelids fell down and Sly drifted to sleep...

"Sly, tonight, you are going to get the Thievius Raccoonus, a tradition that is exclusive to the Coopers only...I'm very proud of you. You have come such a long way ever since I first read it to you, Sly," his father explained as he patted his son on the head. The father was about to hand a leather hardbound book to his son except there was a sudden knock on the door.

"Daddy, who is that?" Sly asked.

"I don't know, Sly...I wasn't supposed to have company tonight...Wait...Something is wrong! Hide in the closet and don't come out until I tell you to!"

Sly did as he was told and hid in the nearest closet. He kept the door halfway open so he could see what was going on. The cub then heard his father opening the door. Instead of a normal greeting, his father was chased into the common room right in front of the fire—the normal spot where Sly would sit on his father's lap and read the book with him.

"You have escaped me for the last time, Cooper raccoon," a mechanical owl said, smirking. "The Cooper line shall soon be eclipsed and will become no more."

"No! I can't let you hurt him!"

Sly watched with his eyes widening as his father fell over. The cub stood shaking as the mechanical owl picked up the book and handed it over to one of his cohorts. The five of them began ripping up the precious book, not caring about the dead father.

"NO!" Sly cried as he bolted out of the closet and tried reaching for the book. He helplessly watched as the five fiends ignored him, taking all the pages and leaving the book's owners behind.

(Gone...)

The five crooks left, leaving Sly alone with his father. The cub broke down to his knees and poked at his father's shoulder.

(Cold...)

He didn't move.

"Daddy! No! Don't be dead, daddy!"

(Silence...)

There was no sign of life left in the room. Thunder clapped right outside the window as Sly held his father's paw.

(Limp...)

"Daddy! Dad! NO! You can't be dead! Dad? DADDY!"

(No more life...)

"DAD! NO! WAKE UP! WAKE UP NOW!"

Sly's eyes quickly snapped open as he found himself back in the armchair once more. He was gripping the arms of the chair tightly. His breathing had become rapid over the course of his dream, but was now turning slowly to normal. Beads of sweat dripped down his back and the warmth of the fire was bringing him back to reality.

"What just happened?" Sly pondered out loud.

Sly got down onto the rug that was on the floor on his paws and his knees. He inspected it carefully in the light that the fireplace provided and saw a stain—it was red-brown and was not wet, but dry.

"Blood...it's...blood..." Sly closed his eyes and tried picturing a happier version of his younger self sitting on his father's lap. All he saw was a blanket of darkness laid over the Cooper residence and the corpse of his father. Sly felt a frustrated tear trickle from the corner of his eye. "Where's my dad when I need him the most?"

Everything felt empty inside himself. Carmelita had betrayed Sly (or so he thought), Bentley and Murray were probably mad at him, Cody and the doctor had no idea what was going on and he couldn't rely on anyone else. All he had now was himself and only himself.

The jig was up.

(Notes if you want to bother...)

Author's notes: Well, I guess that chappie went a little better...Man, I've never had so much fun writing a fanfic before though! Hm...I better say this before I blabber on: Thanks for reading!