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 21

Battle of the Titans

Clockwerk looked across the field. He knew that to be able to escape he would have to defeat this lone wolf, which didn't seem to hard until he felt the magic that began to pulsate from the wolf's body. Eclipse's fur began to float as the energy began to build up. With out warning a lighting bolt came down from the sky and almost struck him, but he didn't move a muscle. After a while He opened his eyes and as he looked Clockwerk down he said in his loud deep voice, "By the will of the guardian of the Pure Magic Gems, I say that the world shall never see your evil face again. Be warned Clockwerk, you will only leave this island over my dead body. CAGE OF THE SOUL."

Eclipse glowed with a low white light, and a tiny orb left his body and disappeared. In an instant a cage of light sprang up, capturing Clockwerk and Eclipse inside the mountain's basin, and locking Carmelita, Destiny, and the others out. Sly, on the other hand, jumped in the second before the barrier had been created. He ran across the field to where Eclipse was standing. Eclipse had just pulled his sword out began to charge it with energy when he noticed Sly running up behind him. He quickly spun around and shouted, "What are you doing here?"

Sly stopped and tightened his grip on his cane as he said, "Clockwerk is my family's enemy. It doesn't feel right leaving him to you."

Eclipse growled a bit, and then mentally knew that Sly was now trapped in the cage of the soul with him and Clockwerk. He had to fight now. Eclipse turned to Sly and said, "All right, you want to fight, then you'll get to fight." Eclipse began to glow as he sat down on the ground cross-legged. Sly suddednly felt a strange energy began to surge through his body. Before he knew it, he was floating through the city that was he own mind, a scene Eclipse had seen three times, each an attempt to unlock the master thief's memories. Sly through the building that housed his memories, going up level by level until he stood in front of the door to the fourth level. Eclipse had told Sly about the fact the last level held no memories, and contained something within that Eclipse didn't even know about.

As Sly looked at the door, it began to open. A steady light began to flow through it. On the inside the room was brightly lit, but only one thing stood in the room. It floated a few inches above the pedestal in the center of the room. It was a cane, like Sly's in shape but it seemed to be made entirely of some strange metal. Sly walked up to it, and read the inscription underneath it. "For Emergencies. When facing an enemy fight with the power of the entire family. Fight with all their strength, speed, and determination. When you fight like that, nothing can defeat you. "

Sly looked at the cane, and then gently reached out and touched it. In an instant he was flung back to reality where he was still staring down Clockwerk, who was desperately trying to escape the cage of the soul. Sly looked down and saw he was covered in a mystic glow. Once the glow faded he saw he was dressed something like what a knight of medieval Europe would wear. Sly recognized it as the armor of his medieval knight ancestor. He looked down at his cane and saw it had transformed into the cane he had just touched. He turned to ask Eclipse what was going on, but the only thing he could say is, "You cane contains the strength of your ancestors, and it will only last a short while. Make it last." With that Eclipse mumbled something and Sly felt some knew kind of Mystic energy flow through him. The world suddenly felt like it was getting small, but in reality he was getting bigger. Soon, he was as big as Clockwerk and at eye level with his old rival.

Clockwerk turned when he felt a wave of magic flow over him. He turned in time to see Sly start running toward him with the cane of the entire Cooper line. Clockwerk tried to dodge the attack, but Sly was able to clip his wing. Clockwerk went sprawling onto the ground, his ability to fly compromised. He stood and glared at Cooper as he said, "So, the great Sly Cooper has to rely on a worn out mystic wolf to help him fight, pathetic."

Sly shook his head as he said, "Your wrong Clockwerk. One, Eclipse is now a member of my gang, and a good friend. I would accept his help any day. Second, he just helped me get to your eye level you old hunk of metal. The power that embodies this armor and this cane is that of all my ancestors."

Clockwerk shook his head as he said, "It doesn't matter, THE COOPER LINE WILL END WITH YOU." As Clockwerk said the last part he charged at Sly with his wing mounted cannons firing several bursts. Sly dodge the cannon blasts and was able to put a whole in Clockwerk's other wing. Clockwerk spun around, and tried to slash trough the armor protecting Sly's chest, but he didn't even make a scratch. Sly quickly punched Clockwerk in the gut, forcing him to back off.

The battle ragged, and Clockwerk was nearly defeated when the cane Sly was wielding began to lose power. He heard Eclipse project his voice into Sly's head as he said, "Sly, you must destroy him now. Strike him in the heart, the Pure Magic Gems are buried in his dark heart, and once you destroy them he will be defeated." Sly gripped his cane tightly as he charge at Clockwerk for the final time. Clockwerk soon did the same, and they clashed in the middle of the battle scared area. In that instant there were two sounds. One was the sound of metal being torn to pieces. The other, was the sound of gems stones cracking and then breaking into thousands of shards. In that instant, Clockwerk turned to dust, and the fight was over.

The cage of the soul disappeared, and Sly shrank down to his normal size. The armor disappeared, and his cane returned to normal. It all seemed okay. Carmelita ran up to him and threw her arms around him while Destiny ran past them to check on Eclipse who had collapsed. Sly and Carmelita were so happy everything had turned out all right, until they heard Destiny call out. Sly and Carmelita quickly turned and ran over to where she was, knelt over Eclipse's limp body. His heart had stopped, and so had his breathing. Destiny quickly began to try the only thing she could, she tried to revive the mystic wolf.

In a distant place Eclipse floated in a void of blackness. He knew he was dead, he had to be. He had to give up his soul to produce the cage of the soul. Once the battle was over, his soul was released. He felt himself cry as he floated in the darkness. He hated leaving Destiny alone in the world, but there was nothing to be done. He was already dead. Suddenly, a bright light shown in one direction. Eclipse then saw a shadow get in the light, and began to move toward him. He recognized the figure in an instance, it was the walking skeleton known as the grim reaper.

The grim reaper walked up to Eclipse, and then said, "Greetings guardian of the gems. It seems you have brought one of my more troublesome souls back to the dead."

Eclipse chuckled as he said, "Yeah, Clockwerk was a challenge, but it is my job to prevent the Pure Magic Gems from being misused."

The Grim Reaper shook his head as he said, "No, it was your job. Now, it is nobody's for you have destroyed the Pure Magic Gems."

Eclipse nodded his head as he said, "I guess your right. So, you going to take me away to the world of death, or let me float here."

Death pointed his scythe away in the darkness that surrounded them, and suddenly Eclipse could here a woman crying. He turned his head and saw Destiny desperately trying to revive him as tears streamed down her face. Death then turned his skull of a head toward Eclipse and said, "Your family has lived with the burden of the Pure Magic Gems since they were forged, and you have carried the responsibility well. Now, I am giving you a choice. You may return to the land of the living, or you can go to the land of the dead."

Eclipse looked at the Grim Reaper with surprise as he said, "Why are you offering me my life."

The Grim Reaper smiled as he said, "Because Sly Cooper's father beat me in a game of cards last night, and the bet was that if I was to lose, I had to offer you a second chance at life. Not only for your own sake, but for hers."

Eclipse looked at the image of Destiny a second as he said, "I don't want to leave her yet. I hate to see her cry like that. I would like to return to the land of the living." The Grim Reaper nodded as he muttered something and Eclipse suddenly felt like he had been tossed like a bag of potatoes into the image of Destiny trying to revive him."

After a few more times attempts at mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, Eclipse coughed a bit as he spat up some blood. Destiny moved back to his head and gently tipped it up. She set his head on her lap and Eclipser began to breathe normally. His eyes stayed close, but he coughed a bit before he said, "Who is there?"

Destiny let out one more sigh of relief before she said, "Don't worry, you'll be all right."

Eclipse smiled slightly as he said, "Destiny, I wish I could see your face right now."

Destiny chuckled as she said, "Just open your eyes silly."

Eclipse did, but a he said nothing for a few minutes before he said, "I had forgotten just how beautiful you are. I guess you have to come close to losing what you hold dear before you truly appreciate it."

Destiny nodded as she ran her hand through Eclipses hair. She smiled as she said, "To think, a few months ago I would never guessed I would be on top of a mountain, a wizard's head on my lap, and I be the happiest I have ever been."

Eclipse just chuckled as he said, "It is the strange way of fate and time. Many believe that they are like rivers, running onward with out change. Time may be like that, but fate is changed with almost every decision we make. Tell me, do you think you have made the right decisions in your life time."

Destiny nodded her head and said, "The day I faced my fears enough to stay with you, I made the best decision of my life."

Eclipse smiled before his exhaustion took hold and he fell asleep in Destiny's arm. Destiny and Carmelita bandaged Eclipse's wounds while Sly and the others repaired the Sky Serpent. Luckily, they were able to get it flight worthy in about an hour with the help of Bentley's mechanical shortcuts that would allow them to continue the repairs in mid air. Panda King carried Eclipse onto the train, and soon they were all leaving. Just as they were past the islands shore line Eclipse woke up and told them to wait. Destiny stopped the train and turned it so the broad side of the train faced the island. Eclipse faced the window from the couch and then turned to Sly and said, "Now, it is about time I rendered payment for your help with the Pure Magic Gems. Watch the island."

Eclipse held his hand up and his eyes began glow as he used the last of his energy to turn back time on the island. They saw the island get enclosed in a bright sphere of light. The light dimmed, brightened, and changed color. At the end the sphere began to melt away from the top of the dome that had enclosed the island. Sly's jaw dropped as he saw the island had been returned to the way it was before Dr. M had set up shop and begun his efforts to crack the Cooper vault. Eclipse smiled as he said, "Now, I am officially beat. Wake me up in a week." With that Eclipse shut his eyes and was almost immediately asleep.