Disclaimer: Sly Cooper and the Cooper gang are property of Sucker Punch and I am just using them to entertain the masses with a good story. I only own the characters I have inserted into the story and the other elements that are the creations of my imagination.

Chapter 2

Eclipse

Sly was up and dressed in thirty minutes. He was wearing a plane pair of dark blue jeans, a blue shirt, and pair of old shoes that were on of the few things he knew came from his past. He met Carmelita in front of his apartment at around 11:30. They ate lunch together and then enjoyed the whole afternoon in the park, doing what ever struck their fancy. It was about 5:00 when Sly and Carmelita decided to go catch a movie, and by the time they left the movie theater it was dark out. As they walked the few blocks to Carmelita's car Sly said, "So, did you like the movie?"

Carmelita nodded and said, "I'm not usually into horrors, but when they make one about that old bird Clockwerk it has to be interesting."

Sly nodded his head, though during the whole thing he had the nagging suspicion in the back of his mind that told him he had been the one that defeat Clockwerk, but he just brushed it off as he and Carmelita neared her car. Carmelita was about to put the keys in the door when a shadowy figure appeared out of nowhere, grabbed her keys, and began running toward the park where Sly and Carmelita had spent their day.

Carmelita and Sly's cop instincts instantly kicked in and they began to take chase. Since their pistols were back at Interpol they mentally readied them selves to take down the thief bare handed. They chased the stranger through the park, never getting more then a glimpse of him as he darted down a new path. Carmelita and Sly chased after the guy for a good fifteen minutes when they finally caught up with him. He was standing perfectly still, the keys in his left hand and his right resting on the hilt of what looked like a sword.

Carmelita and Sly got into defensive positions, but before they could launch an attack the stranger took his hand of his sword and threw the keys back to Carmelita and said, "Here, I just needed these to get your attention. Now that I have it, I need to talk to both of you about a very serious matter."

Carmelita growled as she pocketed the keys and said, "You got some real nerve buddy. If I had my shock pistol you would be in custody right now."

The stranger's face remained emotionless as he said, "To bad you don't have it. Now, are you going to listen to me, or will I have to go to plan B."

Carmelita was about to take this guy down bare handed, but Sly's gut was telling him they needed to listen to this guy, so he put a firm hand on her shoulder and said, "Let's hear what he has to say. Then, I could care less how badly you beat him up."

The stranger nodded his head and said, "You are very wise Constable Cooper. It has been a while since I last saw you Sly, I didn't realize how much you looked like your father, but you have your mother's quick wit, I'll give you that."

Sly's eyes widened as he said, "My father and mother. So, you know about my past."

The stranger nodded his head and said, "I am Eclipse, the guardian of the Pure Magic Gems and the map that shows their locations. A set of 5 Gems that your father was quite interested in, but I digress. The reason I have contacted you tonight is I need your help. You see, the Pure Magic Gems each represent a force of the world, Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. These are forces that can shape the world. The 5th gem is the Unity stone, and it binds the other 4's conflicting powers together."

As the moon peaked from behind the cloud Carmelita and Sly got their first good look at Eclipse. He was a silver wolf, dressed in what appeared to be white wizarding robes. On his belt sat a sword, and around his neck was a necklace with a medium sized medallion on it. Eclipse took up the medallion and said, "This is the key to the temple where the map to the 5 Pure Magic Gems were stored. Since the time when the stones were forged it has been my family's obligation to guard the temple. The only way in is to use this medallion to release the ancient magic that bound the door. Until the day I found out there was a second key."

Flashback

It was a dark, moonless night in dense jungles of India. Only an hour's walk past the old temple where Rajan had his spice factory stood a giant door of stone, built into a cave entrance against a high, steep cliff. In front of the door sat a figure in white robes, meditating. It was Eclipse, and it seemed to be an average night. The last people who had tried to enter the temple of Pure Magic were defeated in 10 minutes flat, and that was several months ago. Eclipse came out of his meditation to look around the forest for any signs of life, but not even the animals came near the door at night. He had to admit, it was a tiresome job guarding this gate, but he was honored that out of his family he would be chosen. So, with that in mind he resumed his meditation.

If Eclipse had only kept his eyes open a few more seconds he would have noticed a cloaked figure dart between to trees. The night remained calm until Eclipse was pulled out of his meditation by the sound of a sword coming out of its sheath. Before any of the raiders knew it Eclipse had lit the torches that surrounded the gate and filled the small clearing with light. He stood up and set his hand on his own sword when from out of no where a gun is fired. Eclipse uses his sword to block the shot and then jumps into the forest and attacks the mysterious gunner. While that fight is going on the other 50 cloaked figures entered the clearing and while 49 of them got ready to hold Eclipse off another took a small circular object and slid it into an indentation in the door.

Eclipse was fighting so hard he hadn't noticed the great stone doors open, and only when the mysterious attackers retreated for what seemed to be no reason did he noticed the doors to the cavern temple were wide open. With the speed of a cheetah he ran inside and to the end of the large room that made up the temple. At the other end stood an empty pedestal, a pedestal that had previously held the map to the Pure Magic Gems

End Flashback

Sly and Carmelita had listened as Eclipse told them about how he searched all around the temple, but could find no trace of the thieves. Carmelita thought about it for a few seconds and then asked, "So, how long ago was that."

Eclipse sighed and said, "That was about a month ago. I have a link with the map, and found that they were using an old fortress in the south pacific for their home base. It looked like it had already been invaded, and found these items while I was walking around the outside of the fortress walls." Eclipse dug in a pocket of his robes a second and pulled out a small blue cube. He threw the cube onto the ground and in a puff of smoke several items appeared on the ground. The items included several objects ranging from canes to a set of six shooters, all of them sharing on common feature. Carmelita quickly noticed that each item had a golden hook on them, all of them in the same shape. A shape she had only scene once, and that was the shape of the cane that was one of Sly's trademarks back when he was a thief.

Carmelita quickly figured out that all of these items came from the Cooper vault. She even remembered seeing some of the items as she went through the massive obstacle course to get to the end and help Sly beat Dr. M. She looked up from the pile and said, "I think I know where you got all this."

Eclipse nodded his head and said, "What I'm wondering is if he remembers?" Carmelita then looked over to Sly who had bent down and picked up on of the six shooters. He could feel it in his heart. He recognized this stuff, it was all so familiar, but the door that sealed away his memory remained sealed tight as the Cooper family vault. Sly knew if he could just find the one thing to jog his memory right it would all come back to him.

While Sly was lost in his thought Carmelita pulled Eclipse off to one side and said, "Why are you trying to make him remember his past?"

Eclipse sighed and said, "I know you would rather Sly remained a cop, but what about Bentley and Murray. What about all his other friends who he doesn't even recognize. I need Sly, be him cop or thief, to keep the Pure Magic Gems away from who ever stole the map, but I personally think that it would be better for him to remember who he was. He could still choose to be a cop when all of this is over, but a person's past affects them in so many ways. Your past helps you guide your future, and it helps you make better choices. Besides Mrs. Fox, this amnesia hasn't only affected him, but the members of the Cooper gang as well."

Carmelita looked over her shoulder to make sure Sly was still lost in his thought before she turned back to Eclipse and said, "What are you talking about?"

Eclipse sighed as he said, "Where should I begin. How about Dimitri made for himself in the skin diving business, but then went to New York and opened up another night club, a lot like the one he used to have in Paris except it doesn't serve illegal spice or have counter fitting operation in its basement. Even with all this success the reports say that he has turned down many of their interviews just so he could have time to, "take a stride down my lane of memories", as he once said. I found out that he was spending his time remembering his adventures with the Cooper gang. The guy had spent, what, two weeks to a month with them. Even after that short time he found he liked being the frog man for the Cooper Gang. Then, there is the Panda King."

Carmelita got a surprised looked on her face as she said, "The Panda King was with them when they broke into Dr. M's fortress!"

Eclipse nodded his head and said, "They had recruited him to be their demolitions expert after they had helped save his daughter, Jing King, from being married to the guy you meet at the alter. Wasn't his name Tsao."

Carmelita nodded her head and after noticing this Eclipse said, "Well, after that he moved in two doors down from Jing King and screened all her suitors for about 8 months. Then, Jing King was finally able to marry someone, and the Panda King returned to the small shrine where he continued his meditation. I stopped in on him, and dove into his mind with my mastery of the Australian art of dreamtime."

Carmelita raised an eyebrow and said, "You are a master of dreamtime."

Eclipse nodded his head, "My father, the previous guardian of the map, taught me every mystic art in the world. I could summon up a terrible creature from a person's nightmares, and then with a snap of my fingers turn that one into an army. That is the reason I have been trusted to guard the map like my father, and all our ancestors. In the terrible case someone got their hands on all 5 stones at once the guardian of the map has to have the power to at least try to defeat the godlike power contained within the stones."

Carmelita closed her eyes to think a second and then said, "So, what happened to Panda King."

Eclipse turned and looked over to where Sly was sifting through the relics he had recovered from the Cooper vault. He sighed and said, "He has locked his mind in replaying the entire heist over and over again, from when they arrived at the island to when, after searching the island for hours, they found Sly's cane and other momentous."

Carmelita nodded her head as she watched Sly pick up a pair of short, dagger like canes that had Chinese lettering on it. She looked toward Eclipse and asked, "any others?'

Eclipse nodded his head and said, "Yes, there are more. Guru, the master in dream time and Australian born member of the Cooper gang has lost his ability to summon up the dream time, and now wanders the Australian outback, trying to find answers. Murray, the strength of the original Copper gang, is now in professional stock van racing, and is on a 6 race winning street, but, as of late, he has stopped caring about the racing and has started truly missing Sly. He is taking it differently then when he left the team. Then, he felt he would see Sly and Bentley again, but now he believes that he shall never see the good old Sly again. Finally, there is Bentley and Penelope. To say the least Penelope made the whole affair a lot less painful, but I got in contact with him over Thief net once, and the second I mentioned Sly he logged of and stayed of the website for three days. A first for Bentley who, since his discovery of the site, had never gone more then two days with out thief net and that was when the thief net uplink computer had been stolen from the Cooper gangs hideout."

Carmelita nodded her head as she took in all this new information. After thinking for a minute she said, "I guess Sly was more then just a thief, he was a leader and someone who would do anything to protect those he called his friend."

Eclipse shook his and said, "Friends they were not Carmelita, they were his family. The only family he had left after that night, the night his whole world was turned upside down by Clockwerk."

Carmelita nodded her head and said, "Okay, but how do you plan to bring his memory back."

Eclipse sighed and said, "I have a few more trinkets from the Cooper vault, and if all that fails I have one other item. If that item can't do it then, I am afraid his memory is truly lost, and the Sly Cooper you originally fell in love with is truly lost to the sands of time."

Carmelita sighed as she began to contemplate what Eclipse had said. He was right, even though Sly still acts a lot like he used to, she misses his flirty chit-chat. The way he could make her heart melt, even while she was chasing him across the globe, trying to put him behind bars. Carmelita made a final decision in her head and then said, "Eclipse, I want you to bring his memory back if you can, but only if you will do one thing."

Eclipse turned and asked, "What is that Carmelita?"

Carmelita stood silent a second and then said, "I want to see what life is like in Sly's shoes. What it is like to be a thief, and working on the wrong side of the law. I want you to promise that no matter what happens you will let me help Sly steal the map to the Pure Magic Gems."

Eclipse looked at Carmelita a second and then said, "All right, it is a deal. Here is how it will work, once we have gotten Sly's memory back we will all head out to steal back the map to the Pure Magic Gems."

Carmelita nodded her head and said, "Understood."

Eclipse walked over to Sly and said, "Does any of this stuff look familiar?"

Sly nodded his head and said, "It all looks familiar, but I can't think remember where they came from, or who they belonged to."

Eclipse nodded his head and then snapped his fingers. The many relics were sucked back into the blue cube and Eclipse picked it up and slid it into his pocket. He then pulled out a red cube and threw it a few yards away from Carmelita, Sly, and himself. The red cube disappeared in a large wall of smoke, and when the smoke dissipated they saw a large selection of portraits that were hung up against a red wall.

Sly walked up to the pictures and looked at each one. The people in the pictures, he knew them from somewhere. He knew they were the best at what they did, and knew that they were all similar, yet different. He finally came to the last picture, which was missing its top half. Eclipse noticed Sly had stopped at that picture, and watched as Sly's eyes began to water.

Sly brushed away the tears. He didn't know why he was crying, but something about this damaged portrait made him want to cry. Eclipse returned the portraits to the small red cube and traded it for a green one. He gently tossed the cube and in a puff of smoke a glass case appeared, sitting on top of a piece of green plastic. Eclipse motioned toward the case and Sly looked into it and saw a cane much like the other ones he had seen, but along side the cane was a tattered book with the words, "Thievius Raccoonus" spelled out on its cover. Next the book was a picture of man, woman, and child in a family portrait. Sly looked carefully at the picture and then asked, "Who are these two people?"

Eclipse glanced at the photo and said, "They are your parents Sly."

Sly eyes widened as he looked at the picture again and said, "My parents!"

In an instant Eclipse took hold of Carmelita's shoulder and she watched as the world disappeared around her. Carmelita's eyes darted around, trying to see anything, but only seeing darkness. Then, she felt her feet setting on a stone path and a great door appearing in the darkness. She turned to see Eclipse was standing beside her. She quickly stepped to the side as she asked, "What did you do criminal, where is Sly."

Eclipse looked a little surprised by Carmelita's reaction, but calmly said, "Chill Carmelita. We have to work together if we are to get anywhere."

Carmelita eyed Eclipse as she lowered her hand to find she didn't have her shock pistol. After a few seconds of silence Carmelita looked at the door and said, "What's with the Clockwerk sized gate."

Eclipse turned his head and said, "That is the gate into Sly Cooper's mind. I have bridged our mind with his in hopes of unlocking some of his lost memories. Once we are in we can leave any time, but we can only enter when the locks on this gate are released. Though he doesn't show it, Sly's mind is like a fortress. How do you think he fought and defeated the Contessa with such ease? His will power allows him to fight mind control of all sorts, and unfortunately that includes mind bridging when his mind is the host mind."

Carmelita eyed Eclipse then the door and asked, "So, shouldn't' this thing be opening."

Eclipse walked up to the door and said, "Give it a second. Sly is desperately trying to remember his mother and father right now, and to do that he will eventually unlock this door and open up more of his mind." Eclipse put his hand on the door and after a few seconds the great lock on the door undid itself and the doors began to crack open. Eclipse quickly motioned toward Carmelita and they both ran inside.

Once through the door they found they were surrounded by a high mountain range, and in front of them was a large fortress. The Fortress was built into four levels. The whole complex was contained within a 9 story wall. On the inside there were many smaller buildings, but in the center stood a huge building. The building was divided into four levels. The first level stood on a high plateau in the center of area. The second level was smaller the first and it stood on top of the first, and such was the third to the second. The whole thing looked like a pyramid with square sides. Eclipse quickly led Carmelita up to the wall. He placed his hand on the wall and in an instant a small gap in the wall formed. Carmelita and Eclipse went through the gap and saw the inside of the fortress.

As they ran toward the huge building in the center of the area Eclipse pointed to the smaller buildings that represented the different parts of Sly's mind. A court house represented his sense of right and wrong. A theater represented his imagination and his dreams, and a library his intellect. The pair finally reached the central building in the complex and Eclipse said, "This, this is where Sly keeps his memory's. Now, in most minds the doors to the memory building are wide open. Do you notice something about his?"

Carmelita nodded her head and said, "Yeah, they're closed tight. There must be 6 locks on it."

Eclipse nodded and said, 'The keys for all those locks are inside the building. This is what we came her to do. Unlike in real life, Sly can not just sneak in through another way. For him to gain access to his memories he must travel through the front door. We, however, can go through a side entrance."

Carmelita nodded and said, "That's why we are here. To get those keys and unlock Sly's memories."

Eclipse nodded her head and said, "Though we will have to do this at least three times."

Carmelita got a quizzical look on her face as she asked, "Why three times?"

Eclipse sighed and said, "We have to do this three times because each time we open a door Sly will sense us intruding on his mind, and quickly throw us out. You see, there are three locked doors to Sly's memory palace. The first one, and one we are dealing with, will allow him to remember everything from his birth to when he first saw Happy Campers Orphanage. The second level of this fortress holds his years at Happy Campers Orphanage, which includes him meeting his best friends Murray and Bentley. The third level contains everything after that. "

Carmelita nodded and then asked, "What about the forth level."

Eclipse looked up to the top of the tower and said, "That my dear, is a mystery I do not have the answer for. In every person's mind they have a similar complex, and each complex has that final level, where no memories are stored. The level seems to be off limits to everyone, even the person themselves. I wouldn't have a clue what is contained in that fourth level, but let us get to the matter at hand."

Carmelita nodded her head and followed Eclipse to a small door in the side of the memory building. The door was not locked, and they entered the room with ease. On the inside the building was much like a museum. Many items representing different parts of Sly's past. Eclipse and Carmelita walked through the many items for a few minutes. They saw a toy plane Sly had gotten for his birthday. A kite that he had gotten stuck in a tree and his father had gotten down for him. They got to the north end of the room, opposite the main gate, and saw a large spiral stair case that Eclipse said lead up to the door to the second level. As they began to search the wide room for the 6 keys Carmelita stooped by one of the exhibits. In the display case she saw what she knew was the Thievius Raccoonus. Carmelita looked around to see where Eclipse was, and after seeing he was know where to be seen she gently opened the glass case and touched the tattered book.

Carmelita suddenly got the feeling of movement, and when she opened her eyes she was standing in someone's living room. In one part of the room a young boy was playing with a toy car while he father sat and watched him as he smoked a pipe. Suddenly the father swooped down of his chair picked the boy up. The father sat back down in his chair and set the boy on his knee and said, "You know what Sly. Tomorrow is your birthday isn't it."

Sly smiled widely and said, "You bet dad. I'll officially be a big boy tomorrow."

The father smiled and said, "You got that right kid, and you know what you'll be big enough to have."

The young Sly scratched his head and said, "A bigger piece of birthday cake."

The father laughed and said, "That to, but tomorrow you will be old enough to inherit the Thievius Raccoonus."

The boy's eyes lit up and said, "Really dad. I will be old enough. OH, I wish it was my birthday right now."

The father chuckled and said, "Just wait until tomorrow, and then you can begin to fill my shoes and become the best thief this world has ever seen. Even better then me."

Sly smiled and said, "I won't ever be better then you are dad. You are the best."

The father smiled and Carmelita almost cried at the heart warming scene. Suddenly, a loud knock came at the door. Sly's father stood up quickly and went over to the door. He peaked through the eye hole, and then he almost dropped his pipe. He quickly rushed over to Sly, grabbed the hook tipped cane sitting by the door and put both of them in the closet. Just as he was about to shut the door he said, "Now Sly, you're a big boy aren't you."

The young Sly just nodded his head, sensing his fathers worry. Sly's father smiled and said, "Sly, then you are big enough to do as you are told. You must not leave this closet. No matter what you hear, you must not leave this closet until I come to get you. Do you understand?"

Sly nodded his head again. His father hugged him tight and whispered, "Grow up, and be the best Cooper you can. That is all you have to do to make me and you ancestors happy." With that Sly's father shut the closet door and ran over to the phone he quickly dialed 911 and when the operator came on he said, "Quickly, there are people at my door who I know are here to hurt me and my son. Please, send someone over here right away."

Sly's father finished giving the operator all the necessary information when the sound of the front door being beat down came to his ears. He spun around to see 5 figures looming over him. They were the fiendish five, and Sly's father had already placed himself between them and the picture safe that held the Thievius Raccoonus.

Carmelita watched as this man fought like a god, taking everything they did to him with out flinching, just to protect his family and their family heirloom. Eventually though, his wounds were too much for him, and with one final blow Clockwerk finished the job. Carmelita looked over to the closet where she saw the young Sly, with tears welling up in his eyes. They both watched as the fiendish five stole the Thievius Raccoonus and were out the door. Carmelita watched as Sly's father slowly edged himself over to the closet, using what life he had left he opened the door and said, "Sly, are you alright?"

Sly came out of the door at full speed and he dove down and began hugging his father's neck. The father just smiled as he said, "Sly, listen to me now."

Sly, with tears in his eyes said, "Y…Yes dad?"

Sly's father smiled a little and said, "Never forget, you are a Cooper, and that the Thievius Raccoonus is rightfully yours. Become a great thief son, and steal back the Thievius Raccoonus. Will you do that for me son?"

Sly nodded his head through the tears as his father's hand slowly became limp and cold. Carmelita desperately wanted to comfort Sly at this time, but she suddenly felt the weight of someone's hand on her shoulder and the living room scene slowly disappeared as a police officer stepped through the door into the living room.

The next thing Carmelita knew she was standing back in the hall of Sly's memories and Eclipse was saying, "Carmelita, you with me?"

Carmelita shook her head and said, "What happened?"

Eclipse closed the lid to the display case and said, "You just experienced one of Sly's worst memories. Coming in contact with any of these items will make you experience that memory. Now, come on. While you were wrapped up in that horrible memory I found all the keys. Let's get outside and open the gate."

Carmelita nodded her head and the pair left the way they came. In a few minutes they had just unlocked the last lock, and they both were thrown back as the doors to the first level of the complex flew open and they were thrown out of Sly's mind.

The next thing Carmelita knew she was back in the park, and Sly was on his knee's crying. She rushed over to comfort Sly as Eclipse said, "It will take a while for Sly to sort through all those memories. I would suggest you stay at his side, because you are the only one he can trust right now. I will be back tomorrow morning, and by then I will have our next move planned." With that Eclipse placed Sly's cane, the Thievius Raccoonus, and the photograph beside Sly, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.