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 13

The Finals

Eclipse woke up the next morning with a massive headache. He had been having the same nightmare all night. He had been standing in a field, with Destiny smiling and enjoying his company. Suddenly she starts to get a fearful look on her face. Eclipse looks down at his fur and it is beginning to turn black. Not a shiny black like Lunar's fur, but a pitch black. He then felt an uncontrollable urge. He wanted to hurt Destiny. He wanted to rip her to shreds for fearing him. He was about to do it to, but then he would always fight the evil urge and end up cursing himself. As the curse began to turn him to stone Destiny turned and ran away from him, disappearing into the blackness.

That dream replayed itself about five times before Eclipse woke up. While thinking about this he didn't even notice he had gone through his morning routine. He was dressed and heading out to the track. The big race was today, and it was a long one. It was 25 laps around the tracks 7 mile course. He was looking forward to crushing Muggshot in the race, but knew he had to make sure Murray wasn't crushed in the process.

Eclipse met Sly at the garage, and they made a few tiny tune ups to the Sky Serpent before Eclipse started her up, and went out to the track. In the final race it would be Murray, in the pull position. Behind him it would be Eclipse in the Sky Serpent. Behind him would be Muggshot, and the Cooper gangs spy, Panda King. Finally there was supposed to be a forth racer, but he never showed up. Eclipse wondered if that was because Muggshot had 'convinced' the fourth guy to drop out of the race.

It didn't make much difference. The fourth guy was in a stock van while Muggshot proved a much more dangerous opponent in his tank. Yes, Muggshot had overhauled an actual tank to make it just as fast as the Sky Serpent, and still able to fire off its turret. The Panda King was the one manning the tanks cannon, while Muggshot worried about the driving. Bentley had planned it that if Muggshot began to play dirty they would instigate operation "Rattlesnake".

Operation Rattlesnake worked like this. If Muggshot began to play a little too dirty then Eclipse would drive the Sky Serpent close enough to Muggshot's tank for the Panda King to jump aboard the Sky Serpent. With out his turret man Muggshot would be defenseless. That is when Panda King will launch some of his fireworks to the Sky Serpents roof, firing them off and destroying the tanks turret. With Muggshot exposed Sly can jump in and leave a rattler. It's was a special bomb Bentley designed to shake Muggshot's tank down to its bolts. Making it fall apart on the race track. With out Muggshot it would be a simple drive for Murray to take first place, and team Cooper to take second.

The race was soon underway and things were going as planned. Eclipse had spent a little time dodging the poorly aimed shots from Muggshot's turret. Eclipse had convinced Murray to hang back until they had finished with Muggshot. Eclipse had just pulled the train up beside and Panda King had jumped across to the Sky Serpent when they heard Muggshot bellow out, "Hey, What happened to Panda King."

They then saw Muggshot stick his head out of the access hatch on the tank and he noticed the Panda King waving to him from the Sky Serpent. Muggshot began to grind his teeth before he yelled, "Why you no good, to timing, traitor. I thought you showing up here at the same time as Cooper was a little suspicious. Good thing I planned for something like this."

Muggshot disappeared for a second and then came completely out of the tank and took hold of the cannon. He smiled as he said, "I installed an auto pilot on this baby, just in case I need to go and get my hands dirty in the middle of a race." Muggshot aimed the cannon, but Eclipse braked quickly and the shot missed the Sky Serpent by a few inches. Eclipse quickly brought the train right behind Muggshot's tank as he said, "All right, time for plan B."

Eclipse flipped a switch on the train's dash board and the others felt a shock come from the front of the train. The Cooper gang logo split down the middle vertically and swung open to reveal a laser cannon that was hidden in the train. Eclipse flipped open a small panel and as he pressed the button said, "This is for Destiny."

Muggshot had the deer in the head lights look as the cannon powered up and he said, "Oh crud!" The cannon fired and took out Muggshot's rear treads. His tank began to go out of control and it careened off the track near the tracks control tower. Muggshot stumbled out of his tank. He shook of his slight head ache and saw someone watching from the other side of the tower. He smiled as he quickly scooped the person up and headed to his teams garage. It was the twentieth lap when Eclipse had brought Muggshot down, so it wasn't long until Murray was standing in the winners circle, holding up the first place trophy, and smiling the biggest smile he could. He was happy he had won, but even happier that he was going back to his favorite job of all, being the muscle and getaway driver for the Cooper gang. Eclipse, Sly, Carmelita, Penelope, Panda King and Bentley had all shown up and were cheering there hardest for Murray. That was until someone fired off a loud shot. Everybody turned to see Muggshot standing a few yards away. He was on top of another one of his team's tanks, this one slower but more destructive. He had something held tight in his hand, and it was Destiny.

Muggshot shouted out, "Cooper, make your choice. If you value this girl's life, the scrawny wolf needs to come up here and take her place." As a final threat, Muggshot fired his gun right at Eclipse. He Eclipse tilted his head and the bullet just grazed his fur.

Destiny looked down from Muggshot's crushing grip, and she saw Eclipse standing there, his fur on end. The sky began to darken, and a strong wind began to blow as Eclipse continued to growl a low angry growl toward Muggshot. Sly and other began to back off as they began to feel a strong ocean of magic energy flowing from Eclipse. Then, Eclipse began a slow march toward Muggshot. As he drew closer Muggshot noticed that Eclipse's eyes were cold hard. For the first time since his childhood, Muggshot was actually scared of someone like Eclipse.

Before Muggshot knew it Eclipse was a few yards away, close enough for Muggshot to get a clean shot with his gun, but before he could reach for it Eclipse made his move. He bent low and then jumped up onto the tank. In one quick motion he drove his fist into Muggshot's jaw, turned and kicked him hard in the gut, caught Destiny when Muggshot dropped her, and jumped clear of the tank. He set Destiny down on the ground and then turned toward Muggshot who was rubbing his jaw. He spat a piece of a tooth out before he growled and said, "Alright, you want to play hard ball. Let's play."

With that Muggshot jumped off the tank and pulled out his two guns. Eclipse continued to gaze coldly at Muggshot as he said, "Destiny, get out of here. I don't want you to get caught in the cross fire." Destiny nodded and ran over to where Sly and the others were watching. Eclipse continued to stare Muggshot down as he pulled his sword out of its sheath. Muggshot raised his guns to fire, but never got a chance. The second he moved Eclipse darted toward him with unprecedented speed and cut the guns in half.

Muggshot looked down at his broken guns and then to Eclipse. That is when Muggshot knew he couldn't win and turned to run away, but when he tried to move his legs he couldn't. He looked back to Eclipse who had knelt down and placed his hand on the ground. Muggshot then looked at his feet and saw his legs were being tied up with thick vines. He struggled at the vines and then lost his balance, falling flat on his face. He rolled over and looked up to the sky, but found Eclipse's sword tip pointed right between his eyes.

Eclipse was fighting the temptation to end it then. To kill the man who responsible for making Destiny have such fear in her eyes, but he sighed as he realized that it wasn't truly Muggshot's fault. Destiny would have found out sooner or later, and he had no right punishing Muggshot for it. With that he pulled the sword back and drove it in the direction of Muggshot's face, only to drive it into the ground a half an inch away from Muggshot's head. Muggshot looked at his reflection in the blade before passing out. Eclipse pulled the blade from the ground, put it in it's sheath, and walked over to where Sly and the others were standing. He looked around the group and saw Destiny had already disappeared, but he had expected as much.

Once he was closer Sly walked up to him and asked, "Are you alright Eclipse?"

Eclipse nodded his head before he lowered it and said, "Forgive me Sly, I let my rage get the better of me."

Sly sighed and said, "It doesn't matter. You took control in the end, and you kept your hands clean."

Eclipse sighed as the Sky's began to let out a cold downpour as Eclipse said, "The only reason I stopped is I didn't want to become what Destiny saw me as. A monster that uses magic to hurt others."

The other feel silent for a second before Eclipse looked up and said, "So, where is Destiny? Is she alright?"

Sly motioned behind Eclipse as he said, "Why don't you see for your self?"

Eclipse turned around and saw Destiny standing a few yards away. Eclipse looked her over quickly, and was happy to see she was no worse for were. He was about to walk over to her, when he saw the fear starting to appear in her eyes again. Eclipse stopped dead in his tracks, and thought, "Nothing has changed, she still fears me." Eclipse turned his back on Destiny, and began to walk back to the Sky Serpent.

Destiny watched as Eclipse turned and began to walk away. There was a war waging in her mind, and she didn't know which would win. The feelings she had developed for Eclipse and her fears were conflicting in her mind. Would she go after him, and hope he never became what she feared, or would her fears win out and she would never be able to see him again.

Eclipse had taken about 20 steps when he heard Destiny yell, "Eclipse, wait."

Eclipse turned and saw that Destiny was holding something in her hands. He felt around his neck and noticed the medallion that was the map temple's key was gone. He looked back up at Destiny and saw that she was holding the medallion in her hand. He then went stiff as a board as Destiny began to walk toward him.

Destiny was fighting the urge to turn tail and run with each step she took toward Eclipse. She was now three steps away from him. She paused a bit, and then took the three steps very slowly. She held the medallion out to Eclipse, and waited to see what he would do.

Eclipse looked down to see the medallion's chain had been broken by Muggshot's bullet. He was about to take the medallion out of Destiny's hand when he changed his minded. He slowly reached down and grabbed her other hand brought it up to the medallion. He then gently closed her hands around the medallion and said, "You keep it."

Destiny looked down and said, "Are you sure"

Eclipse nodded as he took it out of her hand and went to place it around her neck. As he lowered the chain around Destiny's neck, Destiny felt the chain get a comfortable warm before Eclipse let go and the medallion stayed in place. Destiny looked to where the chain should have been broken, and saw that it looked as if it had never been broken. She looked up to Eclipse who smiled and said, "Magic is generally neutral. It is the person who controls it that determines if it will harm or heal."

Destiny began to lean into Eclipse, and then paused for a second. She then took the final step that brought their bodies into contact, and they shared a long embrace. Destiny was looking up into Eclipse's eyes, as he was looking into hers. Eclipse saw the fear, which had once filled those eyes, start to dwindle. While, at the same time, Destiny saw the sadness in Eclipse's eyes get replaced with a sense of joy.

The gang spent a few days on Drag Strip Island. Murray got in contact with his sponsors, getting his contract closed and returning to his rightful place as a member of the Cooper gang. Destiny pulled a few strings and got Eclipse permission to bring the Sky Serpent's passenger and service cars to the track for their needed modifications. Eclipse, with Murray, Penelope, and Bentley's help, added another car to the train. It was a garage car for Murray's beloved van. It had everything a high class garage needed, and would unload the Cooper gang van at a moments notice. The second modification Eclipse need to make was he needed to add the Panda King's firework turrets, and a few other defense systems. The final modification was a bit of an unexpected one.

Eclipse was working on the garage car's hover fans in some faded blue jeans and black tank top when he heard someone walk up. He slipped out from under the car and saw Destiny standing there with some papers in her hand in her usual business suit. Destiny helped him get up and then offered the papers. Eclipse looked at her and then took the papers. He read them over a few times, not sure what to make of them. He then looked up to Destiny. She just was standing there, rubbing her legs together trying to relieve some of her nervous energy. Eclipse just smiled as he walked over to the train's entrance and motioned for Destiny to follow him. He walked through the dinning and living car. He entered the operation's car to see Carmelita and Sly looking over a few wedding books Bentley had printed off for them.

Sly noticed Eclipse enter and said, "Hey, are we all set to move out."

Eclipse shrugged his shoulders as he said, "It may be a few more days. It seems something has come up."

Sly raised an eyebrow as he asked, "What came up?"

Eclipse smiled as he handed Sly the forms Destiny had given to him. Sly skimmed them and then realized they were job applications. From what the forms said, Destiny wanted to join the Cooper gang and be the gang's accountant and tax assessor. Sly thought about it a second. It actually wasn't a bad idea. All of the gang had jobs to do in the field, and even then Bentley would always act as the team's job coordinator. He also knew that even Bentley, with his high IQ, had troubles with some of the government's tax forms that they just couldn't seem to avoid. He looked over the forms one more time before he looked over Eclipse with a stern look. Eclipse began to worry until Sly's serious face soon turned into a devilish grin as he nodded his head and said, "She's hired, just tell her that along with her accounting and tax assessor jobs she will be the teams home base coordinator. I hope that is all right.

Eclipse was about to answer when they both heard a low scream of glee coming from the living car. Eclipse turned and smiled as he said, "I do believe it will be alright. So, I will be needing to make a few additions to make room for are knew member."

Sly nodded his head and said, "Just try and keep it as cheap as possible. I would like to have some money left over to pay for this wedding Carmelita wants us to have.

Carmelita elbowed him in the shoulder as she said, "Now you be quite, you are the one who wants to invite every thief you've met. I just want to invite my family."

Sly shrugged his shoulder and said, "Fine, the wedding I want us to have."

Carmelita nodded her head in satisfaction as she said, "That's better Sly. Now, what color should my brides maids wear?" Eclipse left Sly and Carmelita to finish planning their wedding, and found Destiny standing outside the train, trying to hide her excitement even though Eclipse knew she was aware of what Sly had said.

He looked her over a second and then said, "All right, consider your self officially on the wrong side of the law, so the formal business suit isn't necessary."

Destiny nodded her head and said, "So, what would you suggest I wear to work each day?"

Eclipse thought for a second. He was had several thoughts crossing his mind, but he knew better then to ever let some of them see the light of day. So he sighed as he said, "I say a T-shirt and blue jeans would be fine. We are going for comfort here Destiny, and you can't tell me that you wear a business suit when you want to relax."

Destiny nodded her head as she giggled and said, "Your right, I usually don't like spending my days off in full business cloths. Thanks for telling me the dress code."

Eclipse just nodded as he got onto the wheeled board and slid under the train again. He then felt someone grab his leg and pull him out from underneath the train. Before he knew it Destiny had given him a quick kiss on the cheek before she pushed him back under the train. By the time Eclipse had gotten out from under the train Destiny was halfway across the track. He just smiled as he said, "Be still my heart, for I do believe I have been struck by Cupid's arrow." Eclipse then got back to work, humming a lively tune as he made adjustments to the garage cars hover fans. After he finished that he planned the necessary changes that would need to be made to his sleeping car. He had to enlarge it to hold two, and make two bedrooms in it, much like the sleeping cars that were currently reserved for the last two members of the cooper gang that needed to be recruited, Guru and Dimitri. Eclipse sighed as he designed a dividing wall that broke the one large bedroom into to smaller ones. He then smiled a little as he made a few changes to the plans so the wall that separated the two bedrooms was only a temporary wall. He looked at the plans as he said, "A guy can dream, can he not."