Chapter 22

Bayou

The gang arrived in Florida, and Blain was back to his to normal self. With the team van packed to the brim, Murray drove toward the famous Florida Everglades. The trip took some time, but with luck the gang reached the bayou just as the sun was beginning to set. Everybody piled out, looking around. Bentley had his computer out, using a special air scanner to try and pick up any traces of Voodoo magic. Blain and Rachel were also searching the swamp, opening there senses as they searched for the aura of magic that should have been coming off of Mz. Ruby.

After several minutes, neither Bentley, Blain, nor Rachel were able to detect the slightest trace of Mz. Ruby. There wasn't a hint of Voodoo in the magic in the air, and the swamps themselves showed no signs of Mz. Ruby's voodoo minions. Bentley turned, moving back towards the van as he scratched his head, "That is impossible. All my leads said that Mz. Ruby was in these everglades."

Sly smiled a bit, noticing the tone of aggravation in his voice, "Hey, don't worry Bentley. Nobody's perfect, and this is the first time your sources have ever been wrong. No reason to beat your self up about it."

Bentley nodded his head half heartedly as he leapt back into the van, and began to contact his sources using the satellite on the van's roof. Murray had walked over to a stump, and looking over the wide stretch of black water, reed grass, and ancient trees as he said, "This place really doesn't have that spooky feel like Mz. Ruby's old lair did."

Sly turned to Murray, "Hmm…I agree with you Murray. This place feels calm, and serene. Mz. Ruby's lair down south felt like a graveyard at midnight. It still sends shivers up my spine."

Blain looked over at Rachel, and asked, "Do you think she used a moon stealth spell?'

Rachel shook her head, walking up beside Blain, "No, I don't sense any kind of stealth spell in the area. There is, however, some strange magic in the air. I just can't put my finger on what kind of spell it is tied to."

Blain nodded his head, crossing his arms as he closed his eyes. He opened them a few moments later, a white glow emanating from them as he looked around. The world disappeared, and all he could see was a strange grey mist hanging around in a world of black. The grey mist was natural magic, but there had to be something else.

Blain then saw it, hovering above the ground in front of him. A ring of crimson mist, a portal spell, and its magic had almost completely faded. Blain's eyes returned to normal, and he quickly turned to face Sly and the others, "There is remnants of a portal spell hanging in the air, but it is fading fast."

Rachel snapped her fingers, "Of course, she must be in the shadow dimension. That place enhances all dark magic spells, and in such it would make her spells more powerful and easier to cast."

Blain nodded his head, "Correct, but it is also the best place to cast the ritual spell she is attempting to gather ingredients for. Still, if we want to get the last piece of Carmelita's soul back we will have to travel into that dimension."

Rachel shook her head, "That is impossible though. We would need the person who originally cast the portal spell to reform it."

Blain paused, turning away from the group, "Impossible no, as long as there is some trace of the portal in the air." With that, Blain slowly took a seat on the ground. He crossed his legs, sitting with his hands folded in front of his head, as if in prayer. He then quickly pulled them apart, and began pulling them in and out as he made different mystical symbols. After a few moments of that, Blain reached down, and with his finger, drew a circular symbol on the ground with three triangles on the outside and a star in the middle.

Blain then brought his hands back together, interlacing his fingers snapping his head up, his eyes glowing brightly. In the air in front of Blain, a red mist began to slowly come into view. The mist swirled, becoming thicker and thicker until it became a red disk. Then, with the sound of thunder cracking the mist exploded and became a gateway. Through the remaining red mist, Sly and the others could see a very dark, evil looking forest. In the center of the forest was a clearing, from which an evil, green glow poured up into the sky with trails of smoke, and a haunting voodoo chant.

Blain kept his eyes focused on the portal, but managed to say, "Go quickly, and stop Mz. Ruby. I have to remain here to sustain the portal."

Sly nodded his head, turning to the others as he said, "Come on, its time to put an end to this."

Bentley and Murray nodded their heads, and walked forward and through the portal. Sadie soon followed, the Texan in her starting to come as she cracked her knuckles and slithered into the portal. Rachel paused, looking at Blain before she followed Sadie. The last one through was Sly, who stopped and set a hand on Blain's shoulder as he said, "Thank you Blain."

Blain didn't move, his concentration on the portal as he said, "If you want to thank me, go and get Mz. Ruby. I can only sustain this portal for so long." Sly nodded, and darted into the portal, leaving Blain to sustain the red mist. Even though Blain did not follow, he could see everything that was happening through the vision of the portal.

Sly lead the group as they crept through the trees. Each tree was gnarled, bent, and didn't have a single leaf. The grey trunks moaned and groaned in a nonexistent wind. Sly looked around cautiously, getting the constant feeling that something was watching them. As the gang neared the center of the dark forest, they could hear chanting, moaning, and groaning.

Sly had the others stay back in the forest as he went ahead, moving to the edge of the tree line as he peered into the forest clearing. The ground had been charred black, and four great fires burned around the center of the clearing. The fires were a dark green, and around them danced skeletons and half rotted zombies as they chanted some strange voodoo incantation.

In the center of the clearing the Cajun crocodile, Mz. Ruby, stood before a large black cauldron. Her hands were gently twirling over it, the contents of the cauldron flashing and bubbling in response. Mz. Ruby's zombie servants, her voodoo children, kept bring bottles of liquids and other ingredients up to the cauldron before dropping them in. The zombies were getting their ingredients from a table on the far side of the forest, but as Sly looked over it he didn't see anything that resembled a clock.

Sly crept along the line of trees, staying hidden from Mz. Ruby as he tried to see where Carmelita's Clock of Time was. Sly was about a quarter of the way around the clearing when the voodoo chanting suddenly stopped, and the forest fell silent. Sly quickly looked out in the clearing, and watched as Mz. Ruby reached down and lifted something off of her neck. It was a golden chain, on which hung a small pocket watch. Sly froze, Carmelita's Clock of Time.

Mz. Ruby looked around, smiling as she boasted, "Well my voodoo children, the time is almost right. Soon, no force on earth will be able to stand up against my magic. The whole world shall fall under my power, and our loving family will grow, and grow, and grow."

Ms. Ruby laughed, as she turned away from the cauldron, "Now, all my potion needs is two clocks of life. One of the clocks we have comes from that pain in the rear cop, Carmelita Fox. Now, for this spell to work we needed a clock of life for someone who you would consider good, and a second one from someone evil. Originally, I was going to use Sly Cooper's clock, but he is far too honorable for his clock of life to work, blasted ringtail. I have, however, found another one far more corrupted."

Mz. Ruby paused, snapping her fingers. From the forest, a pair of zombies began to wheel forward a cart. On the cart was a large cage hanging by what looked like an old hangman's noose. Inside the cage, looking like she had been through a sandstorm in Egypt, was Neyla.

Neyla held tightly to the bars of her cage, swinging it back and forth as she shouted in her British accent, "Let me go you pile of scales."

Mz. Ruby smiled evilly as her voodoo children rolled Neyla's cage so it hung right above her cauldron, "I intend to let you go child, and you'll fall right into my pot. Then, the potion will strip away your clock of life, and I will be one step closer to having ultimate power. You can relate to that draw for power, can't you child. After all, you backstabbed Interpol, Sly Cooper, and even that pea sized Arpeggio for a power you lost in just thirty minutes."

Neyla glared at Mz. Ruby, but her glare soon faded as she hung her head. Sly watched in amazement. From where he was standing, it looked like Neyla actually regretted her actions. A tear fell from her eyes as Neyla said, "Maybe I deserve this. I have backstabbed so many, there is no one left who even care if I was dead. Bloody hell, most of them would probably celebrate."

Mz. Ruby laughed, "My, my, my. Do my Cajun ears deceive me or does it sound like you're sorry for what you have done."

Neyla looked up at Mz. Ruby, a strange fire bursting in her eyes, "When I was fused with the Clockwerk frame, all I could feel was hate. Now that I have been separated, that hate died away and I saw myself in a new light. That anger had been buildings since I met Sly Cooper in Paris, and the Clockwerk frame tapped into that anger and multiplied. Now, with my anger gone, I see just how much I had done for power, for immortality. After that I tried to go back to the Klaww gang, but no one would even open the door. Dimitri, Rajan, and the Contessa all turned me away. I couldn't even find John Bison, got himself frozen in ice again. I have been on the streets since then. That is until the rotting corpses you call your children kidnapped me."

Mz. Ruby smiled, gently patting the nearest zombie on the head, accidentally knocking its skull off, "They may be corpses, but there is no one more loyal, understanding, or obedient then a zombie. At least when you're the one that summoned them from the grave."

Mz. Ruby turned, walking towards the table where all of her ingredients laid spread out. She reached in amongst the vials, and pulled out a small one filled with a deep black mixture. A wide, toothy grin spread across Mz. Ruby's face as she spun the vial in her hand, the mixture inside turning slowly, "Well, my dear, soon you won't have to look at my voodoo children any more. Your soul will be shattered, and your clock of time will be the final piece of the puzzle needed to make me the voodoo empress of the world."

Mz. Ruby turned, holding the vial of Soul Shatter potion in her hand. Her smile, however, quickly turned into a look of shock and anger. The zombies that had rolled Neyla's cage over the pot had been knocked to the ground, and the cage was swinging gently, the door open, the pad lock lying on the ground, and Neyla no where to be seen.

In the distance, Sly could hear Mz. Ruby crying out in anger. He glanced back, and saw the light form the voodoo fires surge up. Running behind him, a confused look on her face, Neyla was asking, "Why did you save me?"

Sly looked forward, darting through the trees as he tried to get back to the gang, "Well, the main reason is if I didn't, I wouldn't be able to steal back Carmelita's clock of life, which is hanging on Mz. Ruby's neck."

Neyla lowered her head, but before she could get too depressed Sly added, "And I heard what you said to Mz. Ruby. I still don't trust you, but from the way you were talking I felt you deserved a second chance. Now, all we have to do is convince Bentley and Murray."

Neyla nodded her head, gulping in nerve as she remembered just how strong Murray was. She began to wonder if she had been safer back with Mz. Ruby. Within a few minutes, Sly found the others. At first, Bentley and Murray thought Sly had been running away from Neyla. Sly had to do some fast talking to convince Murray to not pummel Neyla into a pulp, but Bentley wouldn't hear a word of it. In the end, Sadie had to hold Bentley back until he had calmed down enough to hear what Sly was saying.

In the end, Bentley grumbled and said, "All right Sly, she can have one last chance, but what about Carmelita's Clock of Time?"

Sly turned, looking back into the forest towards the clearing, "Mz. Ruby has it around her neck, and I don't think I could get it off." Suddenly, the ground began to shake violently. The tremor was so intense everyone, even the usually sure footed Sly was on the ground.

When the small earthquake stopped, Rachel stood up with narrowed eyes, "She didn't!"

Sly sat up, a little confused, "What is it Rachel?"

Rachel cursed under her breath, the mystical sword Crossroads appearing in her hand, "The fool just cast the ritual, but with one difference."

Bentley stood up, his curiosity and nerves peaking, "What are you talking about one thing different."

Rachel turned to face Bentley, a stern look on her face, "The spell usually calls for two clocks of time, but there is a second way to cast it. If the spell caster offers there soul, in its entirety, the ritual can still work. The disadvantage with that version is to survive Mz. Ruby must devour the soul of everyone on earth. She must kill the planet, and then she can reform it in her image."

Sly stood up, determination flashing in his eyes, "Is there any way to stop her?"

Rachel nodded her head, "Yes. With the second version of the spell the caster gives up her soul, and then routes all her power through an object. If we can take that object away, we will severally weaken Mz. Ruby. Then, maybe, we can stop her."

Sly nodded, turning back to the others, "Sadie, I want you to go tell Blain what happened. Bentley, Murray, I want you to come with me and Rachel. It's time we made a purse out of the crocodile."

The gang nodded their heads, and began to move. Neyla watched as everyone began to leave, and then piped up, "What about me?"

Sly turned, and then motioned toward Sadie, "You should go with Sadie, Neyla. Blain might need some help." Neyla nodded her head, and then began to follow Sadie. Sly paused a second, looking back at Bentley who was glaring at him. Sly turned, acting as innocent as possible, "What?"

Bentley shook his head, rubbing the bridge of his nose, "Sly, I swear, sometimes you are just to trusting for your own good."

Sly smiled, leading the group towards the glow of the voodoo fires, "I don't trust Neyla, not yet anyway. I just feel she needed a second chance."

Bentley threw his arms into the air, "Well, that makes a whole lot of difference, doesn't."

Sly chuckled, "Trust me Bentley, I heard some true regret in Neyla's voice."

Bentley was about to continue the argument when Murray slapped his hand across Bentley's face, smiling up at Sly as he said, "Don't worry Sly, the Murray trusts your judgment."

Sly smiled, nodding his head, "Thanks Murray."

Rachel, who had been walking behind Murray, stuck her head out from behind the largest member of the Cooper Gang, "Not to sound bossy, but shouldn't we be concentrating on Mz. Ruby."

Bentley, Murray, and Sly agreed, letting the argument about Neyla fall onto the back burner as they neared the clearing. When Sly peered out from behind a tree, his jaw dropped. It looked like a tornado had gone through the clearing, the voodoo fires spread across the ground and nearby trees pulled out of the ground. In the center of the clearing stood Mz. Ruby, but something had happened to her.

The usual green scaled voodoo priestess had become as black as night, a dark mist coming off of her body and floating through the air. Her entire body and clothes seemed to be made of the dark mist. It was like she was there, but at the same time she was halfway gone.

After a few moments Sly saw Mz. Ruby slowly turn around, her eyes nothing more then blood red orbs that hung in the mist. She began to laugh, more and more mist starting flow off her body, "The world shall be mine, and I shall rule it for eternity." Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Rachel came out of hiding, and watched in horror as Mz. Ruby began to grow.

In a few minutes, Mz. Ruby was as big as a building, the top of her head at least 6 stories high. Still, the black mist seeped off her body and began to fill the clearing. As Sly and the others began to breathe the mist in, they began to get light headed. Rachel quickly realized what was going on. The mist was supposed to weaken there grip on reality, and allow Mz. Ruby to steal there souls. Still, she had already breathed in far too much mist. She couldn't counteract the spell. All she could do is contact Blain, and hope he could do something before it was too late.

Back at the entrance to the Shadow Dimension, Rachel and Neyla had just walked out of the portal and told Blain what was going on. Blain nodded his head, but quickly turned his head towards the portal as he heard something, as if a whisper on the wind. Blain stopped talking, his ears turning forward as he listened closely. Neyla and Sadie watched in confusion until Blain gasped, turning to them as he said, "We have a problem."

Sadie moved forward, looking back into the portal as she asked, "What is it?"

Blain glanced back at the van, staring at Carmelita's book of knowledge, "Mz. Ruby has released a black mist into the air, and it beginning to poison Sly and the others. If we don't hurry, there grip on reality will be weak enough Mz. Ruby will be able to steal their souls."

"What can we do?" Sadie asked as she looked over at Blain.

Blain looked back at Neyla, "There is a spell that can counter act the mist, and give Sly, Rachel, Bentley, and Murray a better chance against Mz. Ruby. Unfortunately, I would need someone's help, and I couldn't guarantee everything would turn out."

Neyla turned, a determined look in her eyes, "What ever you need, I'll do it. Sly saved me, and gave me a second chance I didn't deserve. It's time I earned it."

Blain nodded his head, "All right, there is one person who could go into the mist and not be affected."

"Who?"

Blain looked back at the Van, his eyes resting on a book, "Carmelita, a soul can not be stolen unless all the pieces of the same soul are present. If I create a temporary link between Neyla's clock of time and the four pieces of Carmelita's soul we do have, we might just have a chance."

Sadie looked over at Neyla, "Are you sure you want to do this?"

Neyla nodded her head, "Like I said, it's time I earned my second chance."

Blain nodded his head, looking back at the van as he said, "All right Neyla, I need you to stand right between me and the portal. Sadie, bring me Carmelita's book." The two women nodded there heads, doing there respective duties. Sadie handed the book to Blain, who quickly flipped it open. He took a pen out of his pocket, and quickly began to scribble stuff on the open page. It was an incantation, and a very complicated one. At the same time, Blain began to say a completely different spell out loud.

Neyla felt a shiver run down her spine. She felt her eyes growing heavy, and she began to fall asleep. Before she knew it, Neyla had laid down on the ground and fallen into a deep sleep. Blain kept writing and speaking, his two spells working in perfect harmony. Inside the book, Carmelita could hear the strange chanting but didn't know what it meant. Suddenly, the world around her began to disappear and she felt like she was being taken somewhere.

In the real world, a chain of light began to branch out from Carmelita's book of knowledge. Around Bain, branching out to make a circle, were the other three pieces of Carmelita's soul. The unused chain of light reached Neyla, gently moving over to her heart before a resounding click filled the air. At that moment, Blain snapped the book shut, and while still sitting down began to call out.

I summon the Forces of Nature, the Magic of Time

I summon the chaos from which the Universe was born

In a time of need, where the fate of friends and allies rest on a razors edge

Let me be a link between the world of the living and the realm of gods and angles.

To hold back the tide of darkness, to save the hero's who face the evil

Please, I plead with the Magic of this world, the Underworld, and Heaven

Give this soul form, and the power to break the ritual that should not be said

Its name never whispered the ritual of the Apocalypse.

Blain then paused, and time in the world began to slow down. In the Shadow Dimension, a lightning bolt cracked across the sky. Still, Blain waited and listened. A gentle breeze kicked up, and seemed to circle around him like a vortex. The bolt of lightning continued to race through the shadow dimension as a several others began to come from the hundreds of thunders storms around the world.

Blain then heard it, a silent whisper in his ear that said, "Your request has been granted." Then, with Sadie looking on in shock, Blain was struck by the hundreds of lightning bolts at once. The pieces of Carmelita's soul began to glow brightly, and in a flash of light Sadie became blinded. When her eyes finally recovered from the blinding light, she saw a Blain was still sitting on the ground, and Neyla was still in front of him.

Then, Sadie saw a third figure. It was a person dressed in long, white flowing robes. Sadie blinked a few times, rubbing her eyes. Whoever it was looked as if she had a pair of great, white feathered wings sprouting out her back. Then, as the blinding light dimmed, Sadie let out a great gasp, her voice filled with surprise, "Carmelita?"