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 Six: A Walk Down Memory Lane)

Sly woke up the next morning and found he had fallen asleep on the rug on top of the stain. He rolled over and stubbornly sat up. His back ached from falling asleep on the rug. Rubbing his ringed eyes, Sly looked around the room and inspected it.

The sun shone through the crimson red curtains, brightening up the otherwise gloomy room. There was a nice, elegant looking wooden floor, which surprisingly looked new for its age and on top of it; the rug Sly had fallen asleep on was white with a red border. The armchair was also a shade of red and the fireplace was graying from age.

Sly quickly stood up and brushed himself off. Now he could do what he wanted to do the night before—explore the house for evidence of his own past. Perhaps Sly could remember something else once more...

(Back at the orphanage...)

Cody watched the five through seven year olds twiddling his thumbs. The disappearance of Daniel Smith was indeed very odd. No one had heard anything from him, not even Ms. Deuducle. Strangely, the headmistress had made a disappearing act herself. Neither she nor Dan were anywhere to be seen.

"Mr. Bryan, when's Danny coming back?" Chandler asked. All of the children still seemed a bit nervous around Cody, but most of them had warmed up to him once more.

"I don't know, Chandler," Cody replied to the joey.

"Things are really boring around here without him," Mike sighed. Everyone at the table was leaning into their paws. Not even the smell of pancakes could cheer them up. Cody shook his head in disapproval.

"C'mon you guys! I'm sure he's going to be back soon!" Cody tried to reassure them.

"What if he's not coming back? What if he's..." Charlotte couldn't finish her sentence. Everyone knew what she had meant. They couldn't stand to imagine it, even if they only had known him for about a day.

"I'm sure that raccoon'll be fine!" Cody said.

Suddenly, to everyone's surprise, Ms. Deuducle came in, rushing towards Cody. She had clearly wanted to come there as fast as she could, because she was panting and her feathers were ruffled. The expression on the owl secretary's face made it clear that she was a bit excited.

"What are you doing here, Ms. Deuducle? Why aren't you back at your desk?" Cody demanded. Even though some would have thought the tone of Cody's voice would be harsh, it sounded rather amused.

"I just got a call from my friend who lives across the street from the Cooper residence!" Ms. Deuducle announced. Everyone's ears at the table perked up. None of them were looking so gloomy anymore. "She says that she saw light through one of the windows for the first time in twelve years!" Cody cocked an eyebrow.

"A light was on? What does that prove?"

"Cody, don't you know the rumor about the Cooper place? Don't you little guys?" Everyone at the table, including Cody shook their heads. "That means that it might be the ghost of Sly Cooper's father reawakened! It only happens when the little Cooper steps into the house once more!"

"Horse poo, Gertrude! You seriously don't believe that story, do you? You know that ghosts aren't real!" Cody retorted.

"I can have fun, Cody, can't I? Besides, nothing EVER HAPPENS here in this old excuse of an orphanage, or Lauderville for that matter! Whoever is in that house must be someone no one here knows since they are an outsider! All the locals know that the house is haunted and so they never go in!" Ms. Deuducle pointed out. The children were "oh" and "ah"-ing as Cody rolled his eyes.

"Still rubbish! Besides, Sly Cooper wouldn't be stupid enough to go into his own house!"

"Well, if you don't believe it's a Cooper, then why don't we make a bet?"

"A bet? Ms. Deuducle, not in front of the kids!"

"No! We wanna see this!" Chandler chirped.

"Okay, Bryan, I say if it is NOT either a Cooper or the ghost of a Cooper, I'll pay you twenty euro! If it is a Cooper or a ghost, you have to pay me twenty euro! Is it a deal?" Cody sighed, shaking his head in disapproval. He had given up talking sense into the secretary.

"For something like this, the stakes should be higher! For all we know, it could really be that rascal hiding from the police! I say the winner receives FORTY euro from the loser!"

"FIFTY!"

"SIXTY!"

"SEVENTY!"

"Who knew bets could be so funny to watch!" Charlotte whispered to the others amidst the chaos.

"NINETY!" Cody suggested.

"ONE HUNDRED EURO AND THAT'S MY FINAL OFFER!" Ms. Deuducle announced.

"Deal!" Cody and Gertrude shook hands as the children watched. "Tonight, we both go knock at the front door to see who's there!" Cody couldn't believe he just said that.

"At ten o'clock P.M., yes?"

"Aw, man! We won't be able to see him!" Charlotte whined.

"Please tell us if it's really Sly Cooper! Will you? Pretty please!" Mike begged. Cody was about to say something, except Ms. Deuducle cut him off.

"Of course we will! We wouldn't want to leave you out of the fun, no matter how much Cody disapproves of it!" Ms. Deuducle commented, giving a look at Cody as if she had just tasted poisoned sugar. Cody knew she was mad at him for making such a big deal of things, but he was going to stick with his opinion, even if he was going with her tonight to the Cooper residence...

(Looking back...)

Sly had gone up the second floor and had inspected five out of seven rooms. Of course he hadn't found any evidence yet, but Sly was hoping he would soon...The raccoon would be able to move on with his escape after that...

Sly cautiously entered the next room to be explored in the residence. He found a king sized bed with navy blue sheets. The flooring was maple wood with a blue carpet that matched the bedding. Opposite the bed was a desk and at the end lay a chest. Though the room was elegant, the end of the room was what drew Sly's attention the most. A large bay window revealed a glorious vision of the backyard. A brook went along the back and there was a tree with a large trunk that had a swing hanging on one of its branches.

Sly proceeded over to the desk and searched its drawers. He shuffled through many sheets and folders with labels on them that had nothing to do with his past, and if they did, he couldn't remember. Sly grudgingly pulled all of the folders out one drawer at a time and inspected the drawer for any missing papers. After checking one drawer, he'd put the folders back to prevent any unnecessary piles.

The raccoon was about to give up looking in the blue room when he saw a framed picture. Sly picked up the dark, wooden frame and examined it. He wiped gray wisps of dust off the glass over the picture and looked at it closer. The coloring in the photo was black and white, indicating it was old.

Within the photo, there was a young cub up on an older raccoon's shoulders. The young cub seemed to be beaming down at the older raccoon, who appeared to be looking at Sly with kind eyes. The older one looked remarkably similar to Sly in appearance, yet there were some noticeable differences. The older raccoon was a bit taller and a little more muscular than Sly was himself. In the background was the tree with the swing hanging off it. Sly realized that the photo was taken in the backyard of the Cooper residence.

"Is this me and...my dad?" Sly wondered aloud as he headed over to the window and sat down in the flat area. He gazed at the backyard and his mind went elsewhere, thinking of the pleasures of having a father and being so carefree...

(Madam's search isn't over yet...)

Madam had wandered all the way around the circumference of the town the night before. This was certainly no evidence of Sly around, at least none that she was able to catch. Madam was rather upset about that. Perhaps he had already begun to remember his sneaking capabilities!

The car filled with the sound of the Cucaracha as Madam picked up her cell phone and answered the call.

"Hello?"

"Teresa, this is Salvador! I have a message from the boss!" Teresa groaned and glared into the road.

"Well, whatever it is, I'm going to have to do it later because I'm looking for Sly Cooper right now!" Teresa pulled up to the sidewalk and parked, then waited for an answer from Salvador.

"The boss wants you to head to the Cooper household at ten o' clock tonight! According to the local newspaper, there were some sighting of lights coming from there and it was reported earlier there was a raccoon running down the street towards there!"

Madam Teresa smirked. This certainly gave her the lead she needed on her mission. Granted she had never even had time the day before to report to anyone in her gang about her discovery. Madam had just been too busy trying to catch Cooper...and now was her chance to report him.

"Salvador, I have an important message I want you to give to the boss!"

"What is it?"

"I found Cooper yesterday." Before she could be yelled at by Salvador, Madam disconnected and shoved the phone back into her purse. Madam then turned the ignition back on and drove to a temporary pit stop, looking forward to ten o' clock.

(A Cub's Room...)

Sly had opened up the chest at the end of the large bed earlier and had picked up a small backpack. It was in this he had shoved the photo into and snapped the bag shut. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he had headed towards the room right across the hall from the blue room.

The door was easy to open. Despite the age of the door hinges, there was no creaking to be heard. Only the soft footsteps of the raccoon himself as he walked in could be heard. Shutting the door behind him, Sly glanced across the room.

Right by the one window in the room with white blinds, there was a twin sized bed with a colorful looking quilt covering any sheets and pillows that were under it. A dresser was included as well, though this room didn't have a crate of any sort. To compensate for this, there was a closet off to the side, which Sly saw was filled with old toys and blankets. On the walls was wallpaper with hot air balloons drifting on them with a pale blue background. The ceiling made Sly feel claustrophobic, as it was the exact same color as the background of the wallpaper.

Flopping onto the bed, Sly closed his eyes and tried thinking for a moment. Amongst the other rooms in the Cooper residence, this one had to be the most friendly and familiar looking. To Sly, this place could be a haven in such a dark home. His eyes darted around the floor of the room, looking for any hints or clues.

At first, there appeared to be no indication of anything, except a green rug. Everything appeared to be void of any new memory restock. Sly peered a bit more and realized there was a corner of a book sticking out from under the rug.

Sly stood up off the bed and kneeled on the floor as he pulled the corner of the rug back. He pulled the book out and blew dust off the cover as he read the cover.

[Sly's Jurnel]

The title had been messily written onto the cover in permanent marker. The quality of the handwriting made Sly chuckle as he realized that this must have been written at a young age.

There was only one thing Sly could do now if he was going to get anywhere. He opened the journal up and turned to a random page.

[Today me and Daddy read thru the Theivius Raccoonas's section on the pickpokiting. Daddy says he never wants me to do it when I'm little though. He says I'm two yung to do stuff like that.

I also went to...]

Sly skipped the rest of the page and flipped farther into the journal. The previous entry was not helping him at all.

[I saw Daddy doing a Wrail Walk today! He set up to polls in the backyard and he put up another poll in the middle and tied the ends. Then he got up on the tippy top of the poll and then he walked on it without slipping! It was so awesum! I watched him thru my window, so Daddy dusn't know I saw him!]

Sly thought for a moment...Had he himself used the rail walk himself?... It didn't seem possible.Sly could not remember one instant that he had used such a technique. Pausing for a moment, the raccoon thought about whether he should pass on reading more for now or try cramming more information into his brain.

Sly shook his head. He had to keep going. Sly flipped to the last page, which was blank. He went a few pages backwards and saw the very last entry that had been recorded. The handwriting was even more scribbled than the rest of the journal and there were tear stains on the page, smudging bits and pieces of the entry.

[He's gone...Daddy's dead. I'm all alone now. Nobody wants me. It's all their fault! Those meanie animals! They took the Thievius Raccoonus! MY Thievius Raccoonus! One day, I'm going to get it back!

Daddy fell over in front of me. Red stuff was all over his bathrobe. He was beat up really bad. He had tried using some of the moves from the book, but there was one too many animals there. It was scary watching my daddy die when I was right there.

The way he looked at me when he fell over and died...I cried. But he looked at me like he was sad and HAPPY at the same time.

Daddy wouldn't let me help, and I know why.

I wanted to help him, but I'm no good. I'm useless. That's why everybody hates me, why Daddy wouldn't let me help. That's why nobody wants me! I could have stopped them! So it's my fault.

All my fault...]

Sly shook his head. He could not believe what he had read. It was no wonder the cub had been muted after that event. No wonder he had been so lonely. The cub had blamed himself for the situation...Sly had blamed himself.

The raccoon was ashamed at what he had just discovered. His father had been suicidal and if he hadn't been murdered, he would have ended his own pain. Frustrated, Sly shoved the journal into the backpack and stood up. He couldn't leave his place yet. This startling discovery was too much. Sly had to find out why.

(She goes in...)

Madam Teresa pulled up in front of the Cooper residence and parked that night. To her horror, she saw Mr. Bryan and Ms. Deuducle walking along the sidewalk to what appeared to be the same destination as her. She had no idea what they were doing here, but she intended to get to Sly before they did.

The lights were on inside the house, from what Madam could see. The windows glinted with warm light, meaning that there was a risk of Sly seeing her as she entered the premises.

Teresa got out of the car and shut the door behind her as she walked up the path as quietly as possible. Up the porch she went, ringing the doorbell to the house.

"Is anyone home?" Madam asked.

(Madam at 10 o'clock!)

Cody and Gertrude saw Madam pull up at the curb and walk onto the property. They looked at each other nervously and gulped.

"What's Madam doing here?" Cody whispered to Gertrude as they stopped walking.

"Something's fishy here! Madam is usually asleep by now! I suggest we spy on her, also getting the chance to see who is at the door inside the Cooper residence! Let's go!" Gertrude motioned Cody to follow her as both of them ducked behind a dead bush. The two of them peeked over the top, viewing the situation at hand.

Madam rang the front door bell. For a moment, it appeared nobody was home. Madam was about to turn and leave, except the door suddenly creaked, revealing a raccoon in a black sweater with a turtleneck. A black hat topped his head. It obviously served its purpose, because it took both Gertrude and Cody a minute to see what was there.

"Who are you?" the raccoon demanded.

"Don't play dumb with me, Cooper. I know it's you!" Madam quipped.

"What do you want?"

"I've told you—Where are the Clockwerk parts located?"

"Who's Clockwerk? Do you know?" Cody whispered to Gertrude.

"No!" Gertrude shook her head. "Let's keep watching!" The both of them focused back to the two raccoons. "You owe me 100 euro by the way!" Cody gritted his teeth.

"I KNOW!"

"Cooper, if you don't tell me where they are—" In the middle of Madam's sentence, Cody and Gertrude's attention snapped back to the ones on the porch. "—then I will tell the kids at the orphanage your little secret!"

"No! You wouldn't!"

"Smithy, my dear, I am not afraid to. Imagine how much they'd hate you! They think Daniel Smith is the greatest attendant they've ever met! Imagine what would happen if they found out you're just a pathetic thief trying to find his way around once more!"

"But I don't know who Clockwerk is!"

"You're out of mind control! If you can't tell me where they are, then you will come with me and wait until you remember something! Upon release of information on your part, I'll let you go and your secret will still be safe!"

"No! If you want the Clockwerk parts so badly, then they must be bad!"

"Bad for who, Cooper? You? Yes, but for me, NO! My gang and I will rise again, I just need to know where the parts are!"

Before everyone else knew it, the raccoon clad in black ran over to Madam's car and opened the door. He was about to leave when Madam grabbed his arm and practically cut the circulation off.

"Don't pull a getaway on me, Sly Cooper! So are you going to come with me or not?"

From what Gertrude could see, Teresa's eyes were now narrowed slits. The owl glanced over at Cody, who was wearing a look mixed with anger and sadness. Cody's ears were down and his tail was tapping on the tar sidewalk.

"I'm not coming with you!" Sly yelled. Madam chuckled as she let go of Sly and opened the car door.

"Good luck trying to come back to the orphanage tomorrow then!" Madam chuckled as she sat down on the car seat and slammed the door shut. Sly watched as she pulled away, his heading drooping.

"I'm so getting him!" Cody grunted.

"No! Cody! Don't do it!" Gertrude yelped.

She tried grabbing his shoulder, but Cody ran too fast. The calico pushed the Cooper down onto his back against the gray sidewalk. He built up pressure in the raccoon's shoulders and dug his claws into his shoulder blades.

"Daniel Smith, eh? Cooper!" Cody snapped. "Been a long time, hasn't it?"

"CODY?!"

(Notes for the day...)

Hello, hello! Well, between reformatting the earlier chapters to match the new ones, fixing any stupid typos that I had the first time I wrote the earlier chapters and writing this chapter, you can say I've been busy lately! But it was well worth it! Now newer readers won't have to deal with my dumb mistakes!

Anyway, thanks for reading and supporting me, you people out there! (hands all reviewers and supporters a large cookie each)

Shady Fetish