Hello again, I'm sorry my updates are taking so long. I hope you'll all forgive me. XD

And join the Dark Side, we have better dental.

I own neither the Dark Side nor Sly Cooper.

Chapter 9 In the Dark

Sly entered into a room of spikes. They lined the walls, the floors, and even the ceiling. But there were very few traps to it, just a bunch of bones to scare people, and a few easy to detect launching spears. There were torches on the wall, ones that just sat there lit. But the room was mostly a piece of cake, and Sly passed through it in a matter of seconds.

The next room was a lot like the first. The only difference was that it was empty, except for torches, and had two doors. Only one door had a handle though, and though he was wary, Sly found no traps in the room. He passed to the next one.

This room provided some challenge. Gleaming suits of armor moved throughout the room, 3 of them. Whether it was witchcraft or possession, Sly didn't know. But their axes and spikes on their knuckles easily told Sly to avoid them. Luckily, there was a chandelier casting a strange red glow in the room. Jumping onto it and crossing the room proved easy, even though the chandelier had a lot of sharp points on its rim.

The next room was the worst. There were more of the guards, and there was no way to cross without being seen, as there were still torches on the walls. Sly put up his cane, ready to fight, when the guards from the previous room came in from behind. The other guards moved in, and now Sly was surrounded by six guards with sharp axes and iron limbs. He figured he was doomed when one spoke.

"More of that Contessa's filth, huh?" The guard addressed Sly, its voice normal with a heavy Nordic accent.

"Actually, I'm the Contessa's enemy." Sly announced, hoping it would win him some favor.

"Not with the Contessa, huh? We'll see about that." The guard said as he moved toward Sly. Sly was expecting a fight, but instead, the guard took in a deep breath. It paused a moment before telling the others, "He's not lying."

Another guard came forward and asked, in an Italian accent, "Well, than who are you?"

Meanwhile, at the entrance, Bentley and Murray sat with Carmelita, waiting for Sly's return. A sudden call came from the fortress. "Bentley and Murray, you must tell me about this van!" It was Dirk (supposedly). Bentley and Murray were leaving when Bentley turned to Carmelita. "Make sure you give him a warm welcome out." Then he turned around to follow Murray. That left Carmelita alone on the barren and suddenly quite cold doorway.

Bentley and Murray left down the hill, and they were soon at the van, with no Dirk in sight.

"I wonder where he…" Murray started before he was attacked by Dirk.

"Hello cherry pies" Dirk laughed.

"What are you doing!" Bentley yelled at Dirk.

"Getting my revenge on you and your stupid coon friend" Dirk said before knocking Bentley out and leaving for the entrance to the cave.

Carmelita sate waiting when she heard him approach. She looked, and in an instant saw that this was Robert. After seeing one man possessed, she could identify another. She was about to rise when Robert knocked her in the head and left her down while he entered the catacombs.

"I am Sly Cooper; I'm looking for the Book of Lost Souls." Sly replied with the etiquette of a twelfth century knight. He could only guess how old these armor guards were.

"Cooper, huh? I remember that name. Infamous clan of thieves! But wait…they only steal from those who break the moral laws. Just what law have we broken in keeping our word to defend this book?" The Nordic guard inquired upon Sly.

"I did not come to steal the book. I simply need to borrow it to rid me and my lover of a demon." Sly answered.

"Hmm…I know! I will let you borrow the book on one condition. You must prove the skills of the Cooper clan. You must steal this ring from my finger." The guard imposed his challenge, displaying the gold and silver ring on his finger to Sly.

"All right, say when." Sly accepted.

"When!" The guard yelled as he punched Sly in the gut with the part of his hand that contained no spikes. Sly fell to his knees as the guard took off into the next room. The other guards simply stood there as Sly got to his feet and began chasing the guard.

Sly followed the guard into a room filled with holes in the floors. Sly didn't know what was in these holes, but he had no doubt it wasn't good. Sly just avoided the holes as he jumped across to the next room.

The next room was filled with giant crocodiles. Sly had just enough time to see the guard punch one in the nose before he left. They all glared at Sly, who immediate reaction was: "Oh crap" before dodging the snapping jaws of several crocs. Sly ducked as one soared over him, and leapt forward as one's teeth snapped together where his tale had just been. He jumped to avoid a croc from biting his legs of, and ninja spire jumped onto the teeth of another croc. He then jumped over towards the door, hafting to hit a croc in the snout to avoid being a snack as he broke free.

He got to the next room as the guard made careful jumps on wet sand. As he hit the entrance to the next room, a piece of the ceiling fell off. It sunk, and just kept sinking. This was quick sand. Sly looked carefully, using the dim glow of the torches to see marks of where the guard had stepped. He jumped out to where he thought it was, and landed. He started sinking, and was near panic when his feet hit solid ground. He breathed a sigh of relief and marked the next platform before jumping. He made it there, and went to the next one. He jumped until he was one jump away from the exit, and then leapt for it. He landed, but didn't stop sinking. He reached out, hoping there was something around him. But he found nothing, and kept sinking. He started to panic, and felt himself getting hot and sweaty. He felt restricted and tried trashing out of whatever had its hold on him. He kept thrashing, and found only his head above the sand. He was truly terrified, and took one last gasp before he went below. He was still panicking and trashing out for something, although he couldn't move very fast in the sand. He felt himself sinking further. His hand was outstretched with his cane, and he was certain of death. He thought about Bentley and Murray, how would they do without him? They could survive, of course, but wouldn't they miss him? Then his thoughts drifted to Carmelita. He would never see her again. He almost lost consciousness, when he felt his cane latch onto something. The thoughts of Carmelita were still in his mind. He couldn't leave her alone. He could not let Robert win. He would not! On this hatred and passion, Sly found himself pulling himself up on the platform.

Sly's face broke above the sand, and he gasped as he yelled, "For you Carmelita, for you!" He pulled himself on the platform, he could not fail her. He pulled himself up, and jumped to the exit with expert precision. He ran through to the next room. He could not take too long, or he would fail. He could not fail.

The next room had hot coals everywhere. They covered walls, floor, and ceiling. He thought about it while he caught his breath. He slid slowly down the wall of the entrance. He gasped for air, still feeling the constriction of the quicksand in his lungs. He looked over at the coals. They cast a red glow on everything. He had to keep moving. He got to his feet, and backed up. He took one last deep breath before running forward and feral pouncing to the middle of the room. He landed on his cane, and slid his way across the coals, kicking up sparks with a yell.

"Waaahhhhhoooooo"

Sly jumped off his cane and landed in the next room. It was empty, except for the guard and a door. The guard stood and stared at Sly. "Took you long enough" it mocked Sly's current state: hot, sweaty, and covered with sand and a few still glowing sparks.

Sly charged forward, grabbing at the hand of the guard, but it was too fast. It pulled back its hand, and punched Sly clear across the room with its iron fist. Sly returned to his feet, and tried once more. The guard knocked him back again. Sly would not give in; he tried again, and again, and again. The guard just kept knocking him back. Sly was forced to fight the guard. He delivered blow after blow, but the guard was unfazed. He just waited until he could knock Sly back again.

Eventually, Sly was crawling his way to the guard. He slowly came to his knees and slowly lifted his hand up to hit the guard, his cane cast a side in a corner. The guard just hit him again. Sly fell back, but opened his hand to reveal the ring. He had taken it while he was pulling back his hand.

"I win" Sly declared as he slowly got to his feet again.

"Indeed" the guard conceded, taking back his ring and walking to the wall on the back side. He put his ring in a hole, and then pressed the large stone above it. The wall opened to reveal a pedestal with a book on it. Sly staggered forward and went to grab the book, when the guard stopped him.

"You must take an oath first. You must pledge that you will only use the book to defeat this demon. When you are done, the book will return itself to the pedestal, and you shall never return here again. And if the book does not return, you shall never rest, and your punishment shall be to serve as a guard, like us." The guard told him.

"I shall only use this book to defeat my demon. When I am done, the book shall return, and if it should not, I will serve as a guard. Wait, if the book is gone, what shall I be guarding?" Sly asked at the sudden thought in his head.

"There are more treasures here than just the book. Three have not returned, and because of that, we have three new guards." The guard responded.

Sly grabbed the book when a bullet hit the wall next to him. He snapped around to see Dirk with an iron sword and a silenced pistol. "You really need some new guards; those old ones are weaker than that damned raccoon." He sneered.

"They're not dead, they're merely standing there posts." The guard responded. "Now leave us be demon."

Sly had caught on earlier than that. He knew that was Robert, and he was already out the door by the time Robert caught on to that he was leaving. Robert went to pursue him, but the guard hit him as he had Sly, and Robert fell back as Sly ran with what energy he had.

Will Sly escape, is there hope, and did you join the Dark Side? Wait for next update to find out, and boy will you find out. Mwahahahahaha. Mwahahahahahahahahahahaha! Mwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha cough cough cough! You get the idea.