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 that I have personally created and the other elements of the story I have created my self.
Chapter 10
Dinner of Fear
Sly and Carmelita stopped by the team's garage around 5:30. They had just got inside when they heard Eclipse shout, "Who is it?"
Carmelita and Sly looked around for a second and then saw Eclipse was underneath the train working on something. Sly walked over and said, "Hey, Eclipse. How is she looking for the race tomorrow?"
Eclipse slid out from underneath the train and said, "She is looking good Sly. I just finished the last few adjustments the train needed to be ready for the race. Now, if you will excuse me I have somewhere else to be at 6:00. Eclipse grabbed a rag and then disappeared into the garage bathroom. Sly and Carmelita looked at each other for a second before Sly asked, "Can you think of anything Eclipse would be doing at 6:00."
Carmelita shook her head and said, "No, everything is ready for the race. There is nothing needing to be done until we actually have to race."
Sly scratched his head a second and then decided to call Bentley. His and Carmelita's suspicions were verified when Bentley told them that Eclipse had nothing else he needed to do before the race. They were both about to call Panda King and asked him when Eclipse came out of the bathroom in a pair of black shoes, black dress pants, and a grey button down shirt. Sly and Carmelita gave him some strange looks, but he didn't even notice as he left through the garage door.
Sly smiled and said, "I do believe this merits further investigation."
Carmelita raised an eyebrow and said, "You mean you want to snoop into Eclipse's business."
Sly nodded his head and said, "Yep, care to join me?"
Carmelita smiled as she said, "You know it Sly."
Sly and Carmelita quickly left the team garage and followed Eclipse as he walked toward the tracks administration building. Carmelita and Sly hid themselves in the branches of a nearby tree, and Sly took out his Binocucom to get a better view of the scene.
Eclipse just stood outside the administration building. He checked his watch and saw it was 5:57. He paced around a bit, and then heard the front door to the building open. He turned and saw Destiny standing there in her business attire. She walked over to Eclipse and said, "Well, shall we get going?"
Eclipse nodded his head and the pair began to head for the nearest security gate. The guards let them pass and didn't even notice the two shadows rail walking across a rope that ran between the race track stands and a small café near the security fence. Eclipse led Destiny toward a small diner a few blocks away from the track. It was a simple family restaurant, but classy enough for a first date. The pair were soon seated and were looking at menu's
Outside Sly and Carmelita were grinning to each other. They knew that this was pure gold, and they need to get everybody in on it. Sly snapped a few pictures as he said, "Man, I give Eclipse credit. His date is a very nice looking woman."
Carmelita huffed a bit as she said, "Be careful Cooper. I won't have you eyeing other woman, considering we are fiancés."
Sly smiled as he said, "Oh Carmelita, I may say someone is beautiful, but you are the more beautiful one in my eyes, no contest."
Carmelita blushed a bit as Sly laid his Cooper charm on nice and thick. Carmelita finally nudged him and said, "Now you quit it. Let's go grab a bite, so we can see just how Eclipse operates."
Sly nodded his head and the pair jumped down from the roof. They walked into the restaurant and asked the waiter if they could have a certain open table. It was on the opposite side of the dinning area, giving them easy view of Eclipse, but making it hard for him to notice them.
Eclipse and Destiny had just finished ordering there food, and the waitress was walking away. They sat in silence for a few seconds and then Destiny said, "So Eclipse, do you have a last name?"
Eclipse shrugged his shoulder as he said, "Yeah I do, but the only one who has ever used it was my mother when I was in such deep trouble."
Destiny giggled a little as she said, "Oh yes, I can hardly count the number times my mother called me by my full name when I was in deep trouble."
Eclipse nodded his head as he said, "So, where are your parents now?"
Destiny finished laughing as she said, "My mom and dad are in Spain, enjoying their retirement. How about you, where are your parents?"
Eclipse feel silent a second before he said, "My mother died when I was young, and my father died about a year ago."
Destiny fell silent for a second before she said, "Sorry, I didn't mean to bring up any bad feelings."
Eclipse looked up and saw Destiny was getting up to leave when he caught her hand and said, "No, please stay. You had no way of knowing, I don't blame you for wondering about my family. If it is anyone's fault it's mine because I brought up the subject."
Destiny paused a second and then sat back down. The pair continued to talk about everything they could think of, books, movies, hobbies, and other such interests. Sly and Carmelita were about to leave the two alone when a commotion could be heard coming from the front part of the restaurant.
Eclipse turned in his seat when he heard the Panda King's voice saying, "Muggshot, please stop this madness. Why are we attacking this restaurant?"
As Muggshot came strolling into the dinning room where Eclipse, Destiny, Sly, and Carmelita were he said, "Geez Panda King, you have gotten soft over the years. Besides, we'll be out of everyone's hair once I find a certain someone.'
Muggshot scanned the hall, luckily not noticing Sly and Carmelita duck behind there menu's. He continued to look over the room until he saw Eclipse. He smiled an evil grin as he walked up and said, "See I have already found him."
Destiny leaned over to Eclipse and said, "Eclipse, what is going on?"
Eclipse put a reassuring hand on Destiny as he stood up and said, "You are looking for me sir."
Muggshot chuckled in a low tone as he said, "Yeah, I'm looking for you, light weight. You are Team Cooper's driver for the race, right?"
Eclipse nodded his head and said, "Yes, that is me."
Muggshot quickly picked Eclipse up by the scruff of his shirt and said, "Then, we have a problem. You tell me where Cooper is right now, or all break you in half like a tooth pick. It was because of your team I got thrown in jail at the Aces competition, and I think it is only fair that I knock your team out of the running for both ruining my casino in Mesa City, and taking away my victory in the Aces competition."
Eclipse struggled against Muggshot's tightening grip. Destiny stood up and was trying to get Muggshot to let go when Muggshot turned to her and said, "Now stay out of my way girly." Muggshot then used his free hand and threw Destiny across the room. She was halfway across the room when Eclipse began to glow. Suddenly a white blur shot out from Eclipse's body and caught Destiny before she could hit the wall. Destiny looked up at her rescuer and saw that it was a white furred Eclipse.
Muggshot was now having trouble with this. He looked at the now black furred Eclipse in his hands, and the white furred one who had just caught Destiny. He finally revealed his confusion by saying, "What is this, there are two of bone heads."
Lunar, the black furred Eclipse, smiled as he said, "Well; now there is. I am Lunar, and that over there is Solar. We are the two haves of Eclipse's personality. We are light and dark, good and evil, and you are going to be in for a world of hurt."
With that Lunar motioned to Muggshot's right. Before Muggshot could react Solar had reared back and punched him square in the jaw. Even for his size, Eclipse was pretty strong. His punch was enough to get Muggshot to drop Lunar. The pair quickly melted back together, and Eclipse pulled out his sword and said in a very serious tone, 'Now, leave before I change my mind."
Muggshot quickly turned tail and ran out of the restaurant, not wanting to fight this guy who could out number him on will. Eclipse quickly sheathed the sword and turned to Destiny who was looking at him with pure terror in her eyes. Eclipse tried to take a step toward her, but she cringed in fear. Eclipse stopped dead in his tracks. He looked deep into Destiny's eyes, which were filled with fear. She wasn't terrified of Muggshot, she was looking at him with those fear filled eyes.
Eclipse tried to take another step, but each step he grew closer to Destiny she would cringe in fear. Finally he hung his head, turned to the waiter and handed him a hundred as he said, "This should pay for my and my date's meal." Eclipse then slowly walked out of the restaurant, turning just before he left the door to get one more look at Destiny, and then heading out into the cold night.
Sly and Carmelita walked over to where Destiny was and helped her up while Carmelita asked, "Are you alright?"
Destiny nodded her head, but Carmelita could still feel her shaking with fright. Carmelita motioned to Sly to go talk with Eclipse, and Sly was quickly out the door, following the mystic wolf. Carmelita walked Destiny back over to her table and sat her down. She got her a glass of water and said, "Do you want to talk about it?"
Destiny just continued to look off into space as she said, "Think you meet a nice guy, and you find out he can split him self in two."
Carmelita sighed as she said, "Eclipse is a nice guy; its just he has a huge responsibility that requires him to be a powerful wizard."
Destiny turned and asked in a joking manner, "What, does he have to entertain a large audience next week in some casino."
Carmelita shook her head and said, "He, like the rest of his family, has to guard a map. This map shows the locations of 5 gems. The Pure Magic Gems, ever heard of them?"
Destiny nodded her head and said, "I have, I did a report on them once for school. I thought they were only a myth."
Carmelita said, "They are not a myth. They are real, as real as Eclipse is. He has to be a great mystic because he has to be powerful enough to fight the gem's power if they should fall into the wrong hands. I have seen him transform into Lunar and Solar before. I know that Solar looks like a guy you want to protect you, and Lunar a guy you wouldn't want to meet in a dark alley. You have to trust me though; he would never hurt those who he is trying to protect. He split himself in half to catch you, and protect the rest of the people in the restaurant."
Destiny looked over to Carmelita and asked, "So, you actually know this guy?"
Carmelita nodded her head and said, "That guy I was with. He is Sly Cooper, the Sly Cooper. He lost his memory about a year ago, and now Eclipse is helping him get his memories back in return for his Sly's help in trying to reclaim the map to the Pure Magic Gems."
Destiny looked over and said, "Has he done anything else for Sly and you?"
Carmelita nodded and said, "He probably made it possible for Sly to propose to me."
Destiny looked down and said, "It's just. One time my family was at a bank. Then, some bank robbers came in and began to shot their guns off. After a few minutes of that they got everybody into a corner and their leader came into the room. He was a King Cobra dressed in black robes. The police were trying to get him to let the hostages go, but he kept telling them that unless they let his brother out of jail, he wouldn't let anyone go. The police wouldn't budge until he made his point. He had one of his goons grab me, and bring me in clear view of everyone. He then began to cast a spell on me, it felt like I was on fire. He just smiled as I screamed in pain from the non existent flames. When he saw the police weren't budging he stopped and tried a new, darker spell. His tail began to glow a bright green, and he actually reached inside me. He began to pull my soul out, and it felt terrible. I suddenly became extremely cold, and then felt such a pain that couldn't be explained. Its like your skin was being ripped off all at once, and then the world began to grow dark as I saw my soul floating in front of me."
Destiny paused for a few seconds, trying to fight back her tears. She finally was able to say, "It was lucky for me that the police decided to give into the guys demands. I was on the brink of death when he put my soul back in my body. Even after he had been put in jail with his brother I still felt ill at home in my own body. My own skin felt strange to me, and the doctors couldn't explain why until they consulted a good natured wizard. He said that when a soul spends so much time out of its body, it tends to become detached from the body. Until the bonds were reformed, my own body would feel strange to me. It was three months before I felt like my old self again."
Carmelita eyes had widened in disbelief. She had been a constable when this had happened, and was actually on the scene. She had seen the whole thing, and knew how horrible it looked seeing someone's pale white soul starting to vanish because it has been out of its body for to long. Carmelita put a hand on Destiny's shoulder and said, "I can not make your decisions for you, but Eclipse would never do that."
Carmelita then stood up, and was about to leave before she said, "I can just offer this one piece of advice. Your world can not be colored black and white. I learned that the hard way when I though I lost Sly. He was a thief, and I was a cop. It was my job to bring him to justice, but when it came to it I never was able to. I had to make the decision, and I now know that it was the right decision."
Destiny looked up to Carmelita and said, "It was easier for you. I now can't watch a magic trick with out breaking down in fear. How can I face him when the mere sight of him makes me want to run and hide."
Carmelita turned and said in a firm voice, "It is your choice. Shall you give Eclipse, the guy you were talking with so comfortably early, a second chance, or will you let your fears rule your life."
With that Carmelita turned and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Destiny to her thoughts. Sly had caught up with Eclipse. He had gone to the team garage, and now was furiously working on some strange device on the table. Sly didn't know what it was, but he walked over and put his hand on Eclipse's shoulder and said, "Hey, you going to be alright?"
Eclipse paused with his work for a second, and then laid his head on the table and began to cry. As he wept he said, "Did you see how she looked at me? She was terrified of me. It was as if I had become a great, evil monster that threatened to devour her."
Sly nodded his head gently as he said, "I know, I saw."
Eclipse continued to cry as Sly stood there. Sly finally decided to leave Eclipse alone, and he slipped out the garage door, leaving Eclipse to cry into the night. He went outside the garage and began to make his way toward the restaurant. He waited outside for Carmelita, and then she told him why Destiny had acted as she did. Sly checked his watch and saw it was getting to be pretty late. He turned to Carmelita and said, "I don't know if there is much more we can do right now. Let's head back to the team dorms and get some sleep. Maybe we can think of something to do in the morning."
Carmelita nodded her head and the pair walked off in silence, both wondering what they could do to help Eclipse and Destiny.