Author Note: Curse the fates, it seems the whole world is against me writing on this story. Still, through hell and high water, I have managed to add a chapter. With the school year ending, and a hunbred other things going on, I am sorry I haven't found more time to write. It also didn't help when I got a new video game, but what can I say. Now, for the long overdue update.

Chapter 8

Roping

The next morning came all too early for the Cooper Gang. Sly had spent a few hours last night talking with Carmelita, making sure she was all right. Now, he groaned as he heard Tennessee shouting at him, "Get up you bag of bones. Sadie just came yelling by the door that they finally posted who is moving onto the roping competition."

Sly groaned, sitting up in his bed as he yawned, and then said, "All right, why aren't you yelling in anybody else ear?"

Tennessee crossed his arms, biting down on his cigar, "I'm not yellin at them because they were up an hour ago. They are down in the lobby, getting some breakfast. Now, you better go and get something to eat now. I know for myself how hard it can be to rope even a normal cow when your minds on eating a piece of cow meat instead of catching it."

Sly slowly got out of his bed, stretching a bit. A few minutes later he was dressed in his western outfit, and made his way down to the hotel's lobby with Tennessee floating a few feet behind him. Sly got down to the ground floor of the hotel, and then saw Bentley, Murray, and Blain eating a light breakfast at one of the tables. Blain waved at Sly, and motioned him over as he pointed to a plate full of food, and an empty chair to go with it.

The gang talked quietly for a while, enjoying the food Sadie had brought them. Sly found out everything he had missed that morning, including very important announcement. After the first Competition, Sly and Blaze were tied for first with Two Ton Tom talking second. It also seemed that when Two Ton Tom was making the announcements, he glared over at gang. Sly smiled, wishing he had been in the lobby to see Two Ton Tom announce that he was being beaten by a couple of what he would call 'Green Horns."

About half way through breakfast Sadie slithered over, and handed a clipboard to Blain, "Are you guys enjoying your breakfast?"

Blain nodded his head, "Yes, thank you. Now, what's this for?"

Sadie pointed to the paperwork on the clipboard, "It's forms for the roping competition. It was originally an individual event, but a few years back someone got killed by one of the elephants. The government made Tom change it so it was a pair of people. This paperwork is what you have to turn in when you arrive at the stadium. It tells the judges who you are pairing up with."

Blain glanced over at Sly, "Well, I think we all know what one of the pairs are going to be."

Sly nodded his head, "It be stupid to do it any other way."

Blain chuckled a little bit, quickly filling out the paperwork, and then handing to Sly so he could sign it. While Sly put his fake signature on the form, Blain turned to Sadie and asked, "So, have you given any thought to my request."

Sadie nodded her head, "I have, and I will."

Blain smiled, "That's great, but we can talk about the details later. Now, I think it's high time we got to the stadium. We don't want to get disqualified for not showing up." Blain stood up from the table giving a gentle wave to Sadie as he began to walk across the room. Sly quickly took the completed form off the clipboard, handing the board to Sadie before he, Bentley, and Murray followed Blain out of the motel. They went around to the back of the motel, and walked into the stables.

Since Blain and Sly would need their horses for the roping competition, all four of them decided they would ride to the stadium. Blain had moved over to Black Twister's stall, and was gently patting the horse's head as he undid the latch. Sly had decided to saddle his horse, Phantom, in his stall, and then use his cane to undo the latch. Murray and Bentley were able to get their horses, Thunder and Einstein, saddled up just as quickly. Murray had a little trouble with Thunder because every time he took a step, it would send a small shockwave through the floor. Bentley, on the other hand, had a very easy time. Einstein was a smart horse, and knew just how to stand to make it easy for Bentley to put on his saddle.

It was just a half an hour later when the gang slowly rode their horses out of the stables, and began to head for the stadium. It was a peaceful morning, a gentle wind blowing to keep the air cool, but not uncomfortable. When the stadium came into view, Bentley's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked, "Blain what were you talking to Sadie about?"

Blain glanced back at Bentley, and then smiled, "Oh, nothing. Just preparing for the future." Bentley raised an eyebrow, but before he could not get Blain to say anything else on the topic. The gang arrived at the stadium, and then split in two. Bentley and Murray tied up their horses and went to get some seats in the stadium while Sly and Blain went into the competitor's portion of the stadium.

Bentley and Murray began to look around the crowd in the stadium. The stadium was filled with people, making the job of finding seats that harder. Bentley finally spotted three seats near the aisle, and soon Murray and Bentley were sitting, waiting for the competition to begin. The competition was supposed to start in a few minutes when Bentley heard a feminine voice ask, "I'm sorry, but is this seat taken?"

Bentley turned, and was surprised to see Sadie standing beside him. Bentley shook his head, "No Sadie, you can sit here, but what are you doing away from the motel."

Sadie chuckled, "Can't this cowgirl get away from work once in a while. Besides, I wanted to come and see Two-Ton-Tom get his butt smoked by Sly and Blain."

Bentley nodded his head, and was about to ask Sadie about that morning and what she was talking to Blain about when the stadiums speakers hummed to life, and then the announcer's voice came over them, "Welcome to the second part of the True Texas Cowboy competition. We are coming back from a very surprising first round. For those of you who missed it, a pair of new comers swept the sure shot competition by shooting down all thirteen targets with only a pair of six shooters. It was amazing, but now its time for them to prove themselves with horse and rope. To start the competition today I am proud to present our first team. Sly 'Tennessee Kid' Cooper and Blain 'Tornado' Shadow Walker."

The crowd exploded with cheers as Blain and Sly rode into the stadium. Sly was making a show of his entry, getting Phantom to rear back and kick his front feat in the air. Blain was a lot calmer, content to wave a little bit. Once the crowd settled down, the competition began. From a large gate on the far side of the stadium, a large elephant slowly walked into the stadium.

Blain whistled at Sly, and both turned to look at the elephant. Blain saw several men running around the elephant, attaching some strange red packs. They soon cleared out while one staff member stepped back, and pulled out a remote. He pressed a button on the device, and the red pack on the elephant's body exploded. Sly sniffed the air, he knew this smell. It was Indian spice, the kind Rajan used to produce. Blain and Sly soon saw the effects of the spice as the elephant's eyes began to glow blood red, and he became enraged.

The elephant reared back, trumpeting loudly before it charged at Blain and Sly. Blain put his heels into Black Twisters side, and rode out of the way while Sly did the same on Phantom. The elephant began to chase after Sly, and Blain looked up at the clock. They had a set amount of time to bring the elephant down. If they didn't do it within the time limit, they would be disqualified.

Blain pulled out his rope, and called to Sly, "Bring him this way."

Sly nodded his head, guiding Phantom in Blain's direction with the elephant right behind him. Blain began to swing the lasso above his head, waiting until Sly was right beside him before letting the rope fly, and hooking it around one of the elephant's trunks. He then tied the rope around a part on Black Twister's saddle, and clapped his hands together. He began to mumble a spell, watching as the slack on the rope began to disappear. Just when the rope was going to be pulled tight, he finished his spell. A complex spell circle appeared on the ground. The elephant was pulled to a sudden halt, the mix of Blain's spell and Black Twister's natural strength enough to bring the elephant to a halt.

Sly saw his opening, and then did what he and Blain had discussed before the competition. He pulled out his own lasso, looping it around the elephants other trunk before he and Phantom began to run around the elephant. The slack from Sly's lasso began to wrap around the elephants feet, and soon they were pulled tight. Now,

Sly and Blain would have to finish off. Sly pulled out his second rope as Blain jumped down from Black Twister, and began to run at the elephant. Once he was at the elephant's side, he jumped up, and struck the elephant in the side with a spinning kick. The force of the kick was enough to make the elephant tip over.

Sly then threw one end of the rope to Blain, and then both began to quickly tie up the elephant's feet. It was a few seconds later, when some of the dust Blain and Sly had kicked up had cleared the crowd saw they had roped the elephant with a few minutes to spare. The crowd exploded with applause, among which were the cheers from Bentley, Murray, and Sadie.

Sly and Blain walked off the field, pulling their horses along. Waiting for them at the competitor's entrance was Two-Ton-Tom. The Texas longhorn just stared at them with cold eyes, and snorted as they walked by before he walked out into the stadium. Blain and Sly smiled to each other, both enjoying making Tom squirm. He was getting nervous, and he should be. Blain and Sly were there to win it, and get back the pieces of Carmelita's soul.

Two-Ton-Tom walked out into the middle of the arena. He was the only person that didn't have a partner. He looked over at the stadium staff as they brought out a new elephant. He gave them a nod, and one of the staff members returned it. The staff members began to secure the same red pack to the elephant's side, but these weren't filled with Indian spice. It was just red dust. Two-Ton-Tom smiled, nobody was taking away his title, even if it meant he had to cheat.

The match started, and Tom was off like a bullet. The elephant he was against was a bit smaller then the one Blain and Sly had to rope, but it would still prove a task for most people. Tom, however, we no push over. He ran up, grabbing the elephant by its tusks before he hauled it up into the air. The crowd gasped as they saw Two-Ton-Tom throw the elephant a few feet. He then pulled out his own rope, and before five minutes had gone by he had roped the elephant. He smiled. No good for nothing greenhorns were going to take away his competition. Especially since Mz. Ruby had told him if he didn't win, there would be horrible consequences.

Sly and Blain meet Bentley, Murray, and Sadie outside. After talking about the fight for a few minutes, Blain said, "All right guys, we have to get to work. Tomorrow is the first part of the music competition, and we need to practice. I have set up a place for us to practice at the top of the Plateau north of town. No one is working the mines today, so that means we will be able to get some practice in without prying eyes. Meet me at the base of the plateau in two hours."

Sly, Bentley, and Murray nodded their heads, and then began to ride back to the motel for some rest. Blain hung back a bit, talking with Sadie. Soon, the pair of them got onto their horses. Sadie's horse was brown with white splotches of fur. The two began to ride of toward the plateau.

A few hours later Sly, Bentley, and Murray came riding up to the bottom of the plateau. Standing their patently was Blain, who smiled at them and said, "Perfect timing."

Sly nodded his head, jumping down from Phantom, "So, how are we getting up to the top of the plateau."

Blain smiled, holding up his hand as he snapped his fingers. From the side of the plateau, a set of long stone stairs burst from the cliff side, and stretched all the way up to the top. Blain turned and began to walk up the stairs, "Now, I found out some interesting information about the music competition. As you know its in two parts, the second part being a direct competition between the top two bands. Now, we get to choose the song we play for the preliminaries, but the one for the finals is supposed to be a surprise. Well, it won't be a surprise for us."

Bentley looked a little surprised, "You found out what song were playing?"

Blain nodded his head, "Yes, but it proved a problem. One of the band's in the finals will have to play the song 'Devil went Down to Georgia' while the other band plays a very similar song 'The Devil went back to Georgia'. The songs are actually related, the second one a continuation of the first. The problem, both songs require a violinist, or fiddle player, with amazing skill."

Murray shrugged his shoulders, "So what, you can use your magic to make one of us the best fiddle player in the world, right?"

Blain shook his head, "Wrong. My magic can do a lot, but it can't make anyone that good at playing a fiddle. That takes practice and passion. Someone has to have spent many hours honing their skills, and then have a passion for playing their fiddle. The skill is what my magic reproduces, but it can't reproduce the passion, the feeling someone gets from playing. That is why I have enlisted some help."

Sly raised an eyebrow, "Help? Who did you get that would help us?'

Blain just smiled as the gang reached the top of the plateau. Set up on the rocky surface was a drum set, a base guitar and a normal guitar, a microphone, and a small set of speakers. They were all hooked into a small, black box that was producing the necessary electricity through magic. The thing Bentley, Murray, and Sly weren't expecting to see was another person standing on the top of the plateau, hold a fiddle on her shoulder with the bow in the other hand.

Sadie looked over at them, and smiled, "Well, are we going to practice or what?"