I've brainstormed madly, and finally a Sly Cooper plot has emerged.

Disclaimer: If I owned Sly, this wouldn't be a fic, it would be a game.

Prologue: A good cop gone bad

Constable Cooper hurried past the yellow tape at the entrance of the museum. The normal cops had no idea who had committed the robbery, except that all the security guards had been killed in slow and often gruesome ways. So the had to call Interpol, for a 'criminal specialist'.

Sly chuckled as he thought of his job title. After duping Carmelita into believing that he had amnesia, she had gotten him a job at Interpol (Much to the dismay of certain superiors) on the grounds that you "send a thief to catch a thief". This was in, in a way, effective. Having been in the criminal underworld himself, he recognized the work of most criminals.

However, in this case, he was stumped. No one, not even Muggshot or the Countessa, would intentionally torture guards. He probably wouldn't be much help, but he had been called in, and there was nothing he could do about.

As Sly entered the room of the theft, he could see that he was not the only officer that had been called in. Inspector Fox was already there, as well as, to Sly's dismay, Chief Rob. This mean pug had been at him from the beginning, and didn't buy the amnesia story.

"Well, Cooper, you sure took your time!" Rob said gruffly. "Honestly, you act like this whole thing's a game. Well it isn't! Now get your head in the game, and tell me who you think did this!"

Sly held back the bile gathering in this throat and turned to Carmelita.

"I need some more information on the case. Carmelita, what exactly was stolen?"

"Some gem called the Atlantis Key. It's supposed to open the door to an underwater kingdom, but they probably just stole it for money. It's supposed to be as much as some small countries income."

"There was one piece of evidence." Said Chief Rob. He than pulled out a tape. "Lets watch it fast; I don't want to miss my shows."

He then put the tape into a supplied VCR. As he did, a face appeared on the screen.

Sly's blood ran cold.

"Hello, son of Cooper."

It was Doctor M.

"If you are getting this message, then I have succeeded in distracting you." The monkey taunted. "Upon returning home, you will find that a rather valuable piece of writing is gone."

Sly ground his teeth. He realized exactly what Dr. M had stolen. After all his hard work, the Thevieus Raccunus had been stolen once again.

"Since I'm a civilized person, I'll give you a clue as to where it is hidden. It has something to do with this robbery. Can't guess? You really aren't much without Bentley, are you?" The ape cackled madly. Then he continued. "You can't even do a decent amnesia impression!" With that, the tape ended.

Chief Rob roared triumphantly. "I knew it!" He said. "I knew we were being lied to! Cuff him, Inspector Fox."

Carmelita just stared at Sly, on the verge of tears. "How could you?" She sobbed.

Sly wanted, more than anything, to reassure her, but he could see three of Interpol's ape mercenaries, and needed to go.

He dashed through the museum, and out the door, but as he did, an ape with a jetpack saw him. The merc leapt through the air toward him…

…and was pulled high into the air by a grappling hook that seemed to come out of the sky. Sly spotted an R.C. chopper flying overhead. Penelope, he thought. But how…

At that moment, a van swerved around the corner. A van with a familiar insignia.

"Jump in, little buddy!" yelled Murray from the drivers seat. The back of the van swung open, and Sly bolted in. Several Apes almost made it to the van, but Bentley, who was sitting in his wheelchair in the back of the vehicle, sniped them with sleep darts.

"How did you find out?" Sly asked.

"Dr. M is a showoff." Said Bentley. "He sent us all warnings that this would happen. Sly, what are we going to do? Imagine what Dr. M could do with that book!"

Sly looked back at the museum. "We're getting it back." He said grimly. "And then we're taking him down."

Saying we would deal with Dr. M wasn't good enough, obviously. Bentley had solved Dr. M's riddle: He was using the Atlantis Key to raze the sunken ruin from the depths. Most of the mythology around this place says that breaking in is really difficult, and with Dr. M running the place, impossible.

Getting in would require a gang even better than the one we originally robbed this guy with. But that monkey had just stolen my new life, and I was going to pay him back in full.