Ch. 9 Immortal Darkness in the Stainless Mind Part 2

Author Note: Sorry I forgot about the italics the last chapter.

To all those who complimented my story: Thank you! If youhave any suggestions. Please tell me via review.

P.S. The Spin Whack is an earlier version of the Power-Up Whack. It's similar, but it doesn't have an orange glow. And Clockwerk's energy blaster is that cannon on his back, he used against you in the final battle of the first game.

Sidenote: ¾ of this chapter occurs in Sly's mind.

(Sly's POV)

As I dodged Clockwerk's mad charge, I begin to wonder two things: 1) Why does he hate my family so much? And 2) How does he keep coming back? It's a mystery that I may never solve. But if I'm not careful, Clockwerk will make sure I never find out.

Clockwerk may be huge, menacing, and strong. But thanks to the enclosed space of the house, and that hunk of metal he calls a body, he's pretty slow when he's not flying. I went forward to hit his head with my cane. Remembering how it worked wonders back in Russia. A sickening thud could be heard as my hook connected with his mechanical head. I expected him to say something that bad guy's usually say when they get hit. Like "Curse you Cooper!" or something to that extent. But instead he laughed. The owl was laughing.

"You fool!" he shouted as he used his enormous wings to knock me down. "Did you really believe that would work a second time?" then he brought his claw down on my face… Luckily I rolled away to avoid being crushed.

"Believe it or not, yes." Then I charged at him.

I tried to dive at my foe. But in one fluid motion, he dodged it with ease. Then Clockwerk, using his talons, tried to slice me into tiny raccoon cubes. They grazed me on the shoulder. I yelped in pain before retaliating with a few quick whacks from my cane, which did nothing more than scratch his armor.

Seeing as how my normal blows caused him no grief, I decided to resort to one of my ancestor's favorite moves; the Spin Whack. Inspired by a tornado, the Spin Whack was a formidable Cooper clan attack. Anyone who used it spun like a top and could hit many foes at once. Perfect against a large group of enemies, even better against a mechanical owl.

I nimbly jumped away from my enemy and quickly got into battle stance. Almost immediately, he ran forward in hopes of ending me once and for all. I had to time this move just right…otherwise I may end up hitting nothing at all.

Here he comes, angry as ever. Eyes ablaze with hatred, talons gleaming, mouth twisted in a furious snarl. Relentless, tireless, evil…You get the idea. What I wouldn't give to simply hit him now. But unfortunately the Spin Whack is strictly a close range move. A slight setback when your opponent is thrice your size. So I waited, I waited until his wings cast their shadows over me, I waited until I could practically smell his rancid mechanical breath, and I waited until we were nearly face-to-face. Then I struck.

I spun around at dizzying speeds, making sure to hit him as much as possible. The satisfying clank of my enhanced hits could be heard as Clockwerk took the full brunt of the attack. After a few more revolutions the attack ended. And then I looked back to see the damage I had dealt. But I was greeted with a wing attack to the face.

It couldn't be! Even my Spin Whack was powerless against Clockwerk!

"Idiotic raccoon!" Clockwerk shouted as he threw me to the other side of the room. "That technique hasn't hurt me since 1883!" I quickly jumped back on my feet, ready to continue the fight. Clockwerk just looked at me and laughed. "Hahaha!!! Don't flatter yourself Sly! I'm not here for you! I'm here for the Thievius Raccoonus! Now tell me where it is and I might spare your life!" he offered. I scoffed at the remark. Like that would ever happen.

"Not talking I see." Clockwerk observed. "Fine, then I'll just have to look for it myself." Then he used his glowing eyes to scan the room. His gaze stopped at the closet where Sid was hiding. "That closet looks like a decent hiding place for a family heirloom." I paled as he took aim with the energy blaster on his back. "Let's see if I'm right. Shall we?" Then he fired.

A few seconds later I found myself on the ground. I don't remember all the details, but I recalled jumping in the way of the shot to protect Sid's hiding place. Now I'm in pain…a lot of pain.

Clockwerk looked down on me. "Hmm…I knew the Thievius Raccoonus wasn't in that closet you amateur." He taunted. Then he turned his head to a portrait on the wall and sighed. "It's always the safe behind the painting." He then proceeded to rip the portrait off the wall to reveal the safe. To my amazement, instead of ripping the safe apart, he started to figure out the safe's combination. "Oh, my. It's your anniversary date isn't it?" he asked as the safe opened. "How trivial." he snickered. After unlocking the vault he stared at the Thievius Raccoonus and sneered before throwing it in the fireplace, which wouldn't be so bad if there wasn't a fire there.

I stared in horror as I saw my family heirloom burn amongst the flames. All my ancestors' secrets reduced to ashes. The contents, lost forever. I was on the verge of tears as I stared angrily at the robotic bird. He stared back with a look of contempt on his face. "Time to steal one more thing." He said. Then he hummed and walked towards the closet. I tried to stop him but the wounds from the energy blast stopped me from getting up. All of a sudden he tore the closet door of it's hinges. I couldn't see much from my position, but I was pretty sure that Sid was quivering with fear. "Ah, Sid…" Clockwerk stated. "You know…even though I've been watching you incredibly closely since the day you were born, but now I'm confronting you like this and I realize I don't know much about you. Which is a shame because…" he raised his claw. "You would have made an interesting addition to my Cooper clan database. Goodbye Sid…" I didn't see what happened next. Though I'm glad I didn't.

(End POV)

(Back in the real world.)

Sentrak smiled as he saw Slystruggle in the Mental Suggestion Chair. "Quite the rebel aren't you Sly?" Sentrak thought. "You seem to be resisting. You even broke my last patient's record. But alas you're resistance is nearing it's end and you will soon submit. I might as well turn on one of my old records for easier listening." Sentrak went to a nearby stereo system and put in a mozart cd. Then an idea popped into his head. He turned on the prison's intercom and made an announcement. "Attention, all occupants of cellblocks A through C! I've decided to give you a little treat. For the rest of the night we will be listening to some classical music. Enjoy!" All through the night, the echoes of instruments playing drowned out the Sly's screams of horror from the Mental Suggestion Chamber.

To be continued…

Author Note: I know the past few chapters have been a bit depressing and serious, but the content will get progressively lighter as the story goes on. Once again, thank you for your wonderful comments, and Merry Christmas! And a Happy New Year!

Best wishes,

The Qing (Pronounced The King.)