AN: Welcome back to Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood, everyone! Kept you waiting a bit, huh? Just like all of you, I was busy coping with the absolute insanity that was Season 2B so far. Then again, all of Season 2 was just one massive bomb after the next with no sign of stopping. Guess that's what happens when you're unfairly cut short. But more to the point, when last we left Sly and Luz, the Cooper Gang has been reunited at last! But what's to come next for this motley band of thieves and witches, and what does Belos really have planned? We'll find out as the story moves on but for now, let's get reintroductions rolling!
Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood
Chapter 3: Clawthorne and Order
The Owl House, 3:00pm
'So, at long last, Sly and his friends are finally back together.' Luz began narrating as her new thief friend from another dimension was reintroduced to his old crew. Immediately after being introduced to Luz, Carmelita was just about ready to have a colossal tantrum at Sly for having them all worried sick for so long. But instead, she broke down in tears of relief that he was okay and collapsed in his arms. 'Let me introduce you to some of them. His girlfriend Carmelita's a cop, so I'm pretty sure she and Eda won't get along very well.'
Meanwhile, Bentley was working to rebuild Eda's body with the help of her head, and Murray was awestruck over King's adorableness. 'Bentley over there is super-smart. And by super-smart, I mean smart enough to build a time machine! Which reminds me, I should also ask if time travel magic is possible sometime. As for Murray, he's the kind of guy with a big heart to match those big muscles. Definitely someone you'd want to have on your side, whether you're a thief or not. And then there's Dimitri.'
As Sly helped his hysterical lover dry her tears, Luz turned to see Dimitri trying to make his move on Eda's decapitated head. 'From what I've been told, this weirdo was once another criminal who was against the Cooper Gang in the past, but then circumstances relating to his family forced Dimitri to join the team on one of their adventures, and he's been pretty useful to them ever since.'
"Well, Eda, here's your body back." Bentley announced while presenting the Owl Lady's restored body. "Apologies if I got some parts backwards. I'm sure you can fix them yourself."
"Thanks for the lift, geek." Eda chuckled before her head began hopping towards her body. "Now can one of you be a pal and help me up?"
"One second, just giving this little cutie pie some belly rubs." Murray answered, continuing to coo at King. "Who's a good little boy? It's you, it's you!"
"Put me down, you pink behemoth!" King yelled while trying to wriggle free from the hippo's embrace. "I am not just a good little boy; I am heir to the throne of all demon-"King was quickly cut off when Murray started blowing raspberries on his furry belly. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! I CAN'T TAKE IT, I JUST CAN'T! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
"So, you feeling like getting a little wicked, witchy-poo?" Dimitri continued to come onto Eda.
"My my, someone's a real charmer." Eda chuckled seductively. "Guess I have that much of an effect on animal people."
"If we're done trying to be ladies' men, we have bigger questions to ask." Bentley stated. "Like, how is it even possible that you were able to cross dimensions? And what happened that caused it to interfere with Le Paradox's tech?"
"I'm not even sure what happened either." Sly replied nervously. "But I'm sure we can find more answers once we get inside. Speaking of which, come on in."
"Ooh, more new friends!" Hooty hollered excitedly, much to the Cooper Gang's disgust.
"What is that freaky door knocker?" Carmelita gagged.
"Oh yeah, this is Hooty." Sly introduced the house demon to his team before opening the front door for everyone. "He's basically the Owl House itself."
"I'll try to wrap my head around that later." Bentley muttered as he rolled his wheelchair into the house.
A few minutes later, once the Cooper Gang had gotten themselves settled in, Sly and Luz decided that it was time for some explanation on the current situation. The pair sat across from their friends, who were all on Eda's couch, as they began speaking.
"So, Cooper Gang, I'd like to welcome you all to the Boiling Isles." Luz began. "This is a wonderful, and extremely deadly, place filled with magic and monsters of all kinds. I got stuck here after stepping through a door that Eda used to collect stuff from my world to sell at the market, and one rollicking adventure that involved a prison break later, I decided to stick around so I could become a witch apprentice."
"So what you're saying is you managed to cross dimensions?" Bentley wondered. "I've been studying up on theoretical physics after learning Sly was stuck here, including the multiverse theory."
"The multiverse what now?" Eda asked the wheelchair-bound reptile.
"Allow me to explain." Bentley continued as he pulled up his Chalk Talk app to demonstrate what he was saying. "So, to put it lightly, the multiverse theory posits that there are an infinite number of Earths beyond our own. For example, there's the Earth Sly comes from, the Earth that Luz calls home, and the Boiling Isles is in-between them." Bentley drew up pictures of Sly, Luz, their worlds, and the Boiling Isles as an example. "After that, the possibilities are endless! There could be an Earth where JFK was never assassinated or where the Nazis won World War II!"
"Or maybe one where we're all in high school together!" Luz excitedly added. "Or maybe we're coffee shop employees, magical girls, soulmates, prisoners, cowboys-"
"Luz." Bentley scolded the human girl for interrupting his presentation.
"Sorry about that." Luz blushed nervously. "I read a lot of fanfiction."
"Such a little cutie." Carmelita chuckled at the apprentice. "Which reminds me, if either of you is a bad influence on her, I will make sure you will be paid in kind." She added, trapping Luz in a protective headlock and threatening Sly & Eda with her shock pistol. "Understand?!"
"We'll try Carms. Just put the pistol down." Sly laughed awkwardly.
"You remind me of a sister of mine." Eda commented, comparing the fox's adherence to rules and her temper to someone else. "Even got the same hair color too."
"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Hooty suddenly butted in and hacked up an envelope with 'Hootsifer' written on it that fell into Sly's lap. "I got another letter from Lulu!"
"Who's Lulu?" Murray asked while trying not to barf at picking up the saliva-covered letter. "Is she your girlfriend?"
"Not really." Hooty replied. "She's just the bestest friend a demon like me could ever have! She understood me when no one else could!"
"He's talking about my sister Lilith." Eda reiterated for the goofy house demon. "For some odd reason, she and Hooty became pretty close in her time here."
"So, anyone wanna read the letter?" Sly asked. "I don't think I want to know what part of Hooty's body he's been keeping it in."
"I'll do it!" Dimitri accepted the offer and took the envelope, shaking some of the spit off before opening it and reading the letter inside. "Dearest Hootsifer," he began in a thick British accent, only to switch back to his regular voice mere seconds later. "Does she have an accent?"
"No, but keep going." King chuckled. "Now I can't stop imagining Lilith with an accent."
"If you say so." Dimitri chuckled back before he got back to reading with the accent. "Dearest Hootsifer, I'm so glad you responded so soon. Thanks for all the updates too; I wish Luz and Edalyn well in helping Luz return to the Human Realm. However, I am sending this letter because I have some dire news to give to you and everyone back at the Owl House. I've been hearing rumblings across town that a criminal syndicate of wild witches has joined forces with Belos. They call themselves the Wild Witch Syndicate, a collection of nine of the most feared criminals in all the Boiling Isles, each themed around one of the nine Covens. I have no idea what they and the Emperor have planned, but I fear all of you might be in danger. Please try to keep your heads low. Sincerely, Lulu."
"A syndicate?" Luz wondered while Dimitri threw the letter away. "Hey, I think I remember one of those Coven guards saying something about one when I first met Sly!"
"Ugh, those creeps." Eda groaned in disgust, causing everyone to look at her. "In case you're wondering, I've had a few run-ins with the Wild Witch Syndicate myself in the past. They always tried recruiting me with the promise that they had a way to heal this curse I've had for most of my life, but I always guessed they were full of bull."
"Wait, a curse?" Carmelita asked with a tilt of her head.
"Observe." Eda replied, and with a snap of her fingers, she assumed a much more monstrous form with black & yellow eyes, massive grey wings, her dress now fused to her body, brown-feathered arms with yellow claws, and light-grey taloned legs.
"You sure this is a curse? You look awesome!" Murray exclaimed excitedly.
"I don't know about you guys, but I got some very mixed emotions right now." Dimitri added, slightly quivering in fear of the beast before them.
"Yeah, this is only kind of a curse now." Eda replied, her voice now becoming more echoey. "I'll explain on the way, but in the meantime, ROAD TRIP! WHAT WHAT!"
"Yay, we're going to see Lulu!" Hooty cheered. "I'll go get ready!"
"Y'know, Hooty, we can totally leave you behind if that's-"Luz tried to speak before the group was greeted to a sight so horrifying that they preferred to never speak of it at all. There then was a strange organ-filled hole in the door where Hooty should've been, while Hooty himself sat below them in a birdhouse-shaped backpack.
"Pretty cool, huh, guys?" Hooty asked the gang, who were too mortified and disgusted to respond.
"What did I just watch?" Sly asked, utterly traumatized at what he had witnessed.
"What has been seen cannot be unseen." Bentley added, now on the verge of puking while his wheelchair pulled out a bucket to barf in.
"Get used to it, guys." King declared. "This is gonna be a long trip."
"Hey, I can take some of you on my staff if you want." Eda suggested while reverting to her normal form.
"Neat idea." Sly agreed before turning to Carmelita. "Maybe we could have a little romantic afternoon flight?"
"Hehe, you charmer." Carmelita blushed at the idea.
"Yeah, I think that reminds me." Bentley declared as he took the gang outside and examined the van's engine. "I think we have just enough power to last us our entire stay in the Boiling Isles. Otherwise, the dimensional transporter we've attached to the engine might've caused it to start malfunctioning."
"So, in other words, we gotta watch ourselves or else we'll be tumbling through time and space again?" Murray asked while he sat down in the driver's seat. "Don't worry you guys; I'll try not to shift into maximum overdrive."
"We'll be watching you!" Sly replied as he put Hooty on his back and saddled up on Eda's staff with Eda, Luz, and Carmelita. "You ready, everyone?"
"Ready!" Bentley, Murray, King, and Dimitri said while boarding the van as it switched into hover mode.
"I'm ready!" Hooty chirped eagerly. "Lulu, here we come!" With that, both Eda's staff and the Cooper Gang van finally lifted off and left the Owl House in the dust. However, none of them realized that they were still being watched by the Emperor's Coven.
"So, the Owl Lady's sister has started getting wise, eh?" a tall, distinguished witch asked while holding up a cigarette with an arm that seemed to be made of a sentient purple sludge. He had slicked-back purple hair & was clad in a purple fur coat, a pink, black-striped shirt with a purple scarf, indigo slacks, and dark purple shoes. He and Kikimora were spectating on the team's journey to meet Lilith. "What do you say, Kikimora? Shall I go and bump her off along with the rest of the Clawthornes?"
"Patience Oozan, you still have your business with the Blights to settle." Kikimora turned the witch's suggestion down. "But I insist you prepare an Abomaton for me. It's time I snuff out that no good traitor myself!"
"Don't get too cocky, Kiki." Oozan smirked, taking a puff of his cigar. "I hear that human friend of Edalyn's got real spunk, a lot of chutzpah. Plus, given what Penelope told us, the Cooper has been in the thieving game for years."
"You underestimate me." Kikimora growled as she marched out of the room.
'On our way to Eda's old home, she and Luz gave me the rundown on what Lilith is like.' Sly monologued as the gang's journey began. 'Long before Luz came into their lives, Eda and Lilith both aspired to join the Emperor's Coven when they were girls, but there was only one spot left for them to take.'
'So, in an act of desperation, since Eda was surprisingly stronger than her, Lilith purchased a curse that would drain her magic for the day, only to accidentally curse her to turn into an owl monster. Messed up, I know. As a result, Lilith won the position in the Emperor's Coven while Eda was reviled as a freak, and she's been begging Eda for years to join her so that Belos can help heal the curse, and they can be together again.'
'Unfortunately for Lilith, once she finally succeeded in capturing Eda by putting Luz's life at risk, Belos revealed that he only wanted Eda petrified to set an example for the people of the Isles. This caused Lilith to decide to betray the Emperor and help Luz save Eda, at the cost of sharing the curse she gave Eda, to begin with.'
Sly then looked over at Carmelita, who was gazing at the setting sun. 'Guess Eda was right. Lilith and Carmelita would get along. They do like to side with wanted criminals for a common goal.' Just then, both staff and van began to slow down as they neared a modestly sized cottage in the distance, one that Eda recognized immediately. 'But now, it's time for a little family reunion.'
SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:
CLAWTHORNE AND ORDER
Job: Family Reunion
Clawthorne Residence, 5:00pm
"Here it is, gang, my old home." Eda declared as the team landed in front of the cottage. "Not too shabby, huh?"
"YAY, LULU!" Hooty cheered as he tried to drag Sly over to the front door. "Come on, Sly, let's get moving!"
"Hey Luz, you said Lilith was a member of the Emperor's Coven, right?" Sly asked Luz. "Maybe we can find something in that house that could give us some clues on what they're planning."
"Good idea." Luz nodded before turning to Eda. "Well, you ready for a family reunion?"
"Eh, got nothing better to do." Eda shrugged while looking up at the house she thought she'd never see again. With a heavy sigh, she began leading the Cooper Gang past the metal gate that surrounded it and through the courtyard.
"Ooh, this is gonna be awkward." Murray whispered to Bentley. "I mean, I'm sure Eda hasn't seen her fam in ages, right?"
"Actually, my mom kept visiting me once a year with what she thought would be a cure for the curse." Eda answered. "And I haven't seen Dad in ages either, not ever since an incident he accidentally caused that made the beast come out."
"Look, let's just try and be friendly." Sly said while the group reached the front door. "Who knows? Maybe we could have some potential allies on our hands." After cuing Hooty to zip it, Sly knocked on the front door. "Uh, hello? We're friends of Eda. Can we come in?" Instead of Lilith like Sly expected, he discovered a stout elderly woman dressed in a violet dress with a fur collar and holding a staff with a large hawk Palisman at the end. "Name's Sly Cooper, madame, and you're a bit shorter than I expected. Hair's not right either."
"Sly, I'm presuming that must be their mother." Bentley responded, rolling up on his wheelchair beside Sly to greet the old woman. "Hello there, Mrs. Clawthorne. My name's Bentley." He greeted, extending a mechanical hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."
"I'm Gwendolyn, and it's nice to meet you too." Gwendolyn responded when she noticed Bentley's wheelchair. "My, such a unique contraption."
"Thank you, I modified it myself." Bentley took the compliment before Gwendolyn noticed Eda among her guests.
"Hey, Mom." Eda said with a sheepish grin. "Long time no see, eh?"
"Oh, Eda and Luz. What a surprise." Gwendolyn grinned while stepping outside to greet her daughter and surrogate granddaughter. "So witchlet, what brings you back home after so many years?"
"Senora, we are here regarding your daughter's letter." Carmelita declared, presenting Lilith's letter that she pulled from her pocket. "Is she home today? We have questions she needs to answer."
"Funny you should mention that." Gwen replied before poking her head back inside the house. "Lilith, Eda's here, and she brought guests!"
"Coming!" another female called as she raced down the stairs and stepped outside. It was a woman who looked a bit like Eda, but she had curly, navy-blue hair, one turquoise eye along with a gray one that was both covered by a pair of glasses, a shoulderless T-shirt with a low battery design on it, a skirt that seemed crudely stitched together, and dark gray boots with laces. From what the Cooper Gang could gather by looks alone, this girl has seen better days. "Hello Eda, Luz, King. Who are your friends?"
LILITH CLAWTHRONE. THE OWL LADY'S SISTER.
"Lilith, I'd like you to meet the Cooper Gang." Luz introduced Sly and his friends to Lilith. "They're a band of thieves, and one cop, from another world just like me."
"Pleased to meetcha." Murray pretended to tip an invisible hat in greeting.
"Eda was right. She is kind of like me." Carmelita commented on Lilith's appearance.
"LULU!" Hooty cheered, bursting from Sly's back to wrap his best witch friend in his extendable body. "OHMIGOSH, I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU IN PERSON AGAIN! PLEASE DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE ME!"
"Oh, Hootsifer." Lilith replied, nuzzling Hooty's face before she felt him closing in on her. "Now, can you please let go? I feel like I'm being choked to death."
"Hoot, sorry! Personal space and all that." Hooty chirped as he let Lilith go, only for Dimitri to try and make his move on the witch.
"Ah, so you must be the lovely Lilith Clawthorne." Dimitri said, clearly smitten with the Clawthorne sister. "I must say, very nice choice of hair color, mon chére." Despite the lizard man's advances, Lilith was a little unnerved by it. "Reminds me of a clear and radiant night sky, most romantic setting, no?"
"Oooookay?" Lilith replied, unsure what to think of the strange reptile man hitting on her.
"Dimitri, now's not the time to seduce the local women." Bentley scolded Dimitri, using a mechanical arm to grab the frogman by the shirt collar and dropping him on the ground. "Anyways, you must be Lilith. I'm Bentley, and we're here to discuss that letter you sent us."
"I figured Luz and Eda would want answers." Lilith nodded. "Come on in, I'll tell you everything you need to know."
"And maybe a little more." Sly smirked as the team entered the Clawthorne residence. In the distance, a humanoid creature made of purple sludge and wearing bronze armor lurked around the house, with Kikimora riding on its head.
"Nice place you got here, Clawthornes." Murray complimented the witches' home while the Cooper Gang sat down at a dinner table to get the answers they needed. "What do you got to eat? I'm starving!"
"Oh, I'd be happy if you tried out some of our family recipes." Lilith replied cheerfully. "Which would you prefer, blood sausage, blood cake, or some blood blood?"
"Boy, that's a lot of blood." Dimitri commented. "What are you, like, vampires?"
"Hey, word of advice, guys," Sly said to his two friends. "the cooking in this world can make you feel a little nauseous. Trust me, I had some myself courtesy of Eda."
"So, like we wanted to ask, who is this Wild Witch Syndicate you mentioned in the letter?" Bentley asked Lilith. "We know that they're a bunch of criminals like us that want to cause trouble, and stopping guys like them is our forte, but what made them want to throw their lot in with that emperor?"
"You see, they've been among the Boiling Isles' most wanted for decades now and commit outlandish crimes that make headlines on a regular basis." Lilith explained to the gang. "From what I've heard from some friends still in the Emperor's Coven, the Syndicate has been recruited by Belos for some secret project, and in exchange, he shall grant them amnesty from the Day of Unity."
"The Day of Unity?" Carmelita wondered. "Is that some kind of enforced holiday?"
"Far from it." Luz replied. "Belos keeps saying how the Day of Unity will make the Isles into a utopia free of wild magic, and he's been hunting down wild witches for years to enforce his twisted laws in preparation."
"Fascist dictator, got it." Sly declared. "Is there any way we can stop this guy? Like, any weaknesses we should know about?"
"I'm not sure, but I know he isn't invincible." Luz declared proudly before she presented a golden chip from her pocket. "Check it out; I broke off a piece of his mask rescuing Eda!"
"Whoa!" the Cooper Gang cheered in amazement while Sly gave Luz a high-five.
"You did what?!" Gwendolyn gasped. "I, I don't know what to say! No one had confronted Belos like that before and lived!"
"Well, consider me the first." Luz boasted when Sly poked her on the shoulder and motioned to the stairs. "Oh, I feel like I got to, uh, go to the little witches' room. May I be excused?"
"But we didn't even eat yet!" Murray complained. "I want to taste some genuine Boiling Isles cooking with all of us together!"
"Hey, maybe we can share leftovers." Sly suggested as he watched Luz walk up the stairs. "Dimitri, my man, why don't you entertain everyone with some stories?"
"Stories, eh?" Dimitri said while Sly used the opportunity to follow Luz. "Well, this is a funny little story from my neck of the woods. Y'see, it all starts with a little something I call kinetic aesthetic."
While Dimitri kept the party occupied, Sly and Luz made their way upstairs to a long hallway before them. "Okay, here's the plan." Sly said to Luz. "I'll go and rifle through Eda and Lilith's old things and see what I can find. You stay out here and call me if someone comes around."
"Wait, you're planning on invading Eda's privacy?" Luz asked. "And why can't I do that while you investigate Lilith? I'm pretty sure Eda would trust me with her stuff. Mostly."
"Hey, I'm a thief. It's what I do." Sly snarked before reaching into his backpack and pulling out a special book. "Here, how about some light reading to keep you occupied?" To Luz's surprise, Sly had produced his family's treasured Thievius Raccoonus for her to read. "What do you think?"
"Are you really trusting me with your family's secrets?" Luz quivered in amazement while holding the Coopers' legendary book in her hands. "Between this and The Good Witch Azura, I'm really starting to question which is my favorite book now."
"Don't get too emotional; I'm gonna need it back when I'm done here." Sly replied. "But if you'd like, I can let you write your name in it."
"That sounds great!" Luz cheered eagerly before Sly covered her mouth and shushed her. "Oh, sorry, gotta keep a low profile."
"Attagirl." Sly nodded with pride and sneaked away into the shadows of the hall. Looking through every door he could find, the raccoon initially found nothing in each of the rooms behind them until he found what he assumed to be Lilith's room. It looked ornate and tidy, fitting for a sophisticated lady like her, and seemed like it hadn't been touched in years.
Meanwhile, Luz had already become engrossed in the daring adventures of the Cooper family, the book revealing to her generations' worth of thieving techniques and stories of the history of a world almost exactly like her own, albeit one with talking animals instead of humans. Rioichi Cooper, Tennessee Kid Cooper, Slytunkhamen I and his son, Salim al-Kupar, it seemed that Sly had ancestors from all over the world that were just as talented as he was.
But there was this sinking feeling that for all these high-stakes, rollicking adventures, there was always someone to ruin everything. In many of the pictures she saw of Sly's forefathers, there was a bird-like silhouette always lurking behind them. But what could it have been? When she looked through the pages dedicated to Sly's swashbuckling ancestor Henriette "One-Eye" Cooper, Luz got an answer.
Staring the human in the face was the horrifying image of a mechanical owl. Wings spread as a show of dominance, empty glowing eyes with no soul to be found, and talons that could tear a man to bloody shreds. Looking through Henriette's notes on the owl, Luz began thinking back to Sly's story from when they first met. He had mentioned something about a guy named Clockwerk, who had robbed the book and separated its pages between himself and four other criminals after they attacked his family.
Combined with the chills running down Luz's spine, she couldn't help but cry while imagining a young Sly, cowering and helpless as his parents were thoughtlessly murdered by a cruel sociopath who survived only on pure hatred. Would it be rude to call someone you've only read about a heartless monster? The way Luz saw it after reading about Clockwerk, no. Not at all.
Speaking of Sly, he had just about turned Lilith's old room upside down in search of clues. Old clothes, sports paraphernalia, books, it seemed his trail was nearly running cold. But luckily, Sly's path would start heating up when he found some pamphlets talking about the Emperor's Coven and some kind of scroll hidden away in a drawer, and it was here that the gears in the thief's head started turning as he connected the dots.
Sly already knew that Lilith bought this curse to use on Eda, but how did she cast it without Eda knowing what it could do? Did she pass it off as a prank, or was it more sinister than Sly realized? Many possibilities were racing through his head, but one that stuck out was a younger Lilith sneaking into her sister's room at night, looming over a peaceful, sleeping Eda and casting the curse, unaware of the terror it would bring upon the two of them for years to come. Plus, something about the situation made Sly think back to the night of his parents' death.
Just then, the door behind Sly creaked open, and the voice of an old man called out. "Hello? Anyone in here?" His reflexes kicking in, Sly quickly turned around to discover an elderly man with scars covering the left side of his body, greying hair that looked remarkably like Eda's, a scar over his left eye, and a gentle smile on his face. "Hello there. What brings you here, sir?"
"Uh, nothing, gramps." Sly nervously said while hiding the pamphlet and the curse behind his back. "You must be Eda's dad, right? I could tell by the hair."
"So, you know my daughter, eh?" the gentleman said softly. "Edalyn did have a knack for drawing people in. I'm Dell, and you are?"
"I'm Sly Cooper, Mr. Clawthorne." Sly said before he looked around for a bit. "Look, between you and me sir, I'm on a mission, and I'm gonna need you to keep quiet about this. Got it?"
"What kind of mission?" Dell asked in a fatherly tone that reminded Sly of his own dad.
"I'm sorry, but that's kinda classified." Sly replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got an accomplice waiting for me in the hall."
"Oh, you mean the girl with the book?" Dell said. "She's looking a little down in the dumps. Don't know what about that Thingus Raccamagoocus has gotten her so broken up, though."
"I'll go check up on her, and thanks." Sly thanked Dell before he left Lilith's room with his prizes in hand, until he was greeted by a teary-eyed Luz racing up to him. "Uh, Luz?"
"Sly!" Luz wailed as she trapped Sly in the tightest hug she could offer, looking to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown. "I'm so sorry about your folks! I now know why Eda freaked you out so much!"
"Hey hey hey, chill out, Luz!" Sly tried calming the human down by returning the hug. "Clockwerk is a traumatizing guy to be around, but what's gotten you so broken up about him?"
Luz could barely find the right words to say to Sly, other than stuttering and blubbering between sobs. As soon as the thief pulled a tissue from a nearby tissue box for her to blow in, Luz gave a proper response. "Because I know how you feel."
"How so?" Sly wondered, getting on one knee to comfort Luz. "Your folks no longer with you too?"
"Well, not entirely." Luz sniffled as she pulled out her phone and showed Sly pictures of her family back in her world, her mother and father. "The anniversary of my dad's death is coming soon, and me and my mom always made a tradition out of making flowers for him, since he always brought home flowers for us on our birthdays."
"Guess your dad must be a real stand-up guy, huh?" Sly remarked.
"The best." Luz smiled tearfully. "But now, I don't think we can do it this year, since I had to leave my mamá back on Earth and got her worried that she failed me as a mother. Which reminds me, what were your parents like?"
"My parents?" Sly chuckled dryly. "One of my dad's old cohorts once told me that he was a real one-of-a-kind guy, but a little headstrong. He taught me everything I knew, and he and my mom were there for me every step of the way. At least, until you-know-who came along."
"Look, I'm sorry I'm getting all worked up about this, but I just want you to know that you aren't alone here." Luz stuttered. "In case you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll-"
Without a moment to hesitate, Sly interrupted Luz by wrapping Luz in a tight hug of his own, causing tears to once again well up in the human's eyes as she sobbed gently into his shoulder. Though Sly tried to keep a cool head, there were a few tears of his own dropping from his mask. Who knew that such a chipper, bright young girl would allow herself to be this vulnerable around a near stranger?
JOB COMPLETE
"Hey, how about we see how everyone else is doing?" Sly asked softly. "I'm sure they're already having seconds by now."
"Come on, just a few more seconds?" Luz suggested, her eyes wide and glistening with tears. One look at the girl's face forced Sly to give in, and they returned to comforting each other. In this hallway, the raccoon and the human became more than just acquaintances and partners in crime. Now, they seemed more like brother and sister.
Dell watched the pair as he left Lilith's room, chuckling as he fondly looked back on similar tender moments between his daughters when they were young.
Job: Home Invasion
"And I was like, "Show your bling and let me shine you!" and he said, "I have no idea what you're saying."" Dimitri told the story of his first encounter with Sly to the group back at the dining table. "I hoped he leave well enough alone, but then he followed up with, "And your suit sucks.""
"How long have we been hearing his life story?" Lilith asked Carmelita while on the verge of dozing off from Dimitri's tales.
"About twenty minutes." Carmelita answered, poking at her blood sausage with a fork. "So, I've been told you worked in law enforcement too?"
"Leader of the Emperor's Coven." Lilith answered while a goofy-looking white bird perched atop her head.
"Interpol, fourth generation, top of the class at Sleuth Academy, honors at Police Academy." Carmelita added, presenting the badge attached to her collar. "I've been told we might get along based on occupations and hair color."
"That reminds me, are you dyed?" Lilith asked the Interpol officer. "I dyed my hair to try and look more intimidating."
"No, no, I am not." Carmelita answered. "So what was life like for you with the Emperor's Coven, Lilith?"
"Oh, just a boring desk job, showing up at coventions, and hunting down my sister." Lilith replied. "Bet you thought it would've been a bit more glamorous, eh?" Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door. "Could someone get that?"
"Hello, pizza's here." A voice that sounded a little too familiar to the Clawthorne sisters said behind the door while Dimitri went up to answer it. But just as he was about to turn the knob, the door suddenly squashed him flat as Kikimora barged into the house while riding atop an Abomaton. "Pizza delivery. Oldest trick in the book."
"Who is that, one of your colleagues from the Coven?" Carmelita asked Lilith while the Cooper Gang took up arms against the intruder.
"Unfortunately." Lilith growled before looking at Kikimora. "What business do you have here, Kiki?"
"Oh, you know, just passing through, on a little mission to snuff out your traitorous hide for good." Kikimora replied. "And look, you're with those filthy Coopers too."
"As much as it would hurt me to bring harm upon a fellow law enforcer, I don't think you have clearance to break in here!" Carmelita replied before firing her shock pistol at the Abomaton, only for the blast to be absorbed into its body. "What?"
"Must be one of those new-fangled Abominations by the Blights." Eda observed.
"The Emperor said my children were no longer wanted, so you should have no quarrel with us." Gwen proclaimed, standing up for her daughters.
"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Kikimora snarled while the Abomaton glared menacingly at the two wild witches.
"Hey tiny demon lady, if you wanna hurt the Murray's friends, you gotta get through the Murray first!" Murray roared and tackled the Abomaton to the ground outside before he began wailing on it.
"What's taking those two so long?!" King asked regarding Sly and Luz while the rest of the group raced outside. "What did Luz do at Hexside to take forever in the bathroom?"
As soon as the pair heard the commotion downstairs, Sly and Luz raced to the broken front door to discover the source of the crashing sounds, and Luz recognized the culprit all too well. "Kikimora?! What brings you here?!"
"Friend of yours?" Sly asked sarcastically while the Abomaton wrestled Murray away and stood up to face the human & the raccoon.
"Sly Cooper, we meet at last." Kikimora declared as the Abomaton lowered its hand to allow the little demon to meet the raccoon's eyes. "I am Kikimora, personal right hand to the Emperor of the Boiling Isles, on a mission to terminate your little crew and eliminate a certain traitor to our cause in your midst. If you know what's good for you, surrender at once."
Unfortunately for Kikimora, Sly was not intimidated by her in the slightest. "Hey, who invited this creepy lost child?" he asked, much to her annoyance. "And what's with her attitude, too?"
"Yeah, are all demons naturally that tiny?" Murray wondered while looking at King.
"Not all of them, Murray." King replied. "I'll tell you more later."
"Enough of this!" Kikimora angrily stomped her foot on the modified Abomination's hand, causing it to brandish a massive arm cannon that it pointed at Sly. "Fire!"
"Oh boy." Sly muttered as he nimbly leaped away from the blast, and it hit straight through a window. "Who made those things? They should really consider upgrading the aim!"
"You're right; she should really hop to it." Kikimora grumbled to herself before turning her attention to Luz. "And as for you."
"Luz, look out!" Lilith cried as the Abomaton prepared to fire another blast at Luz, only for the former leader of the Emperor's Coven to toss an ice glyph at it that froze the arm cannon solid. "Someone, get her before she breaks the ice!"
"On it!" Murray exclaimed before he picked up King and began to wind up for a throw.
"Weh?!" King yelped in shock before the hippo lobbed him at the Abomaton. "Well, guess I should probably whip this out." King then let out a supersonic yell that briefly knocked the Abomaton off its feet while he shoved Kikimora off its head, before the two proceeded to slap each other repeatedly.
"Stop hitting me, fleabag!" Kikimora yelled petulantly as she struggled to stop the onslaught of smacking.
"You started it!" King replied while landing a few good slaps across Kikimora's smug face.
While Kikimora was distracted, however, the Abomaton slowly got up and turned its amorphous hand into a scythe to try and cut away at its attackers. However, Gwen decided to step in to help with a few taps of her staff on the ground. "Hawksley, if you please."
Suddenly, the massive hawk at the end of Gwen's staff came to life, indicating to Sly that it was another Palisman just like Owlbert, and it swooped about to distract the Abomaton while buying the gang time to destroy it.
Eda quickly changed into her harpy form and charged at the Abomaton, grabbing onto its other arm and clawing at it. "Hey, gonna need a lift here!" she exclaimed as Sly, Carmelita, Dimitri, Murray, and Lilith joined her in beating the beast down.
"With pleasure!" Bentley replied, preparing one of his grenades, when he suddenly got an idea. "Hey Luz, got any of those glyphs I can borrow?"
"Pick a glyph, any glyph!" Luz presented her glyphs to Bentley like a deck of playing cards. Bentley had yet to learn which glyph did which, so he picked the first one that stuck out to him. "What's this one supposed to be?"
"A fire glyph." Luz explained. "Attach it to one of your bombs and see what happens!"
Bentley did just that, and the paper vanished into flames, setting the grenade on fire, and he tossed it straight at the Abomaton's gooey body. As the grenade was submerged, Bentley realized what was about to happen. "Everyone run, I threw one of my grenades at it!"
"Wait, a what?" Eda wondered before the Abomaton abruptly combusted, sending her and the offworlders flying and Abomination goo getting everywhere.
JOB COMPLETE
As the dust settled, Kikimora emerged from a particularly huge pile of sludge that covered her and King, and she wasn't happy.
"You!" the Emperor's right hand pointed an accusing finger at Sly as he dusted himself off and helped Lilith & Carmelita up. "I don't know where you came from or what you did to destroy my Abomaton, but mark my words! Once Belos finds out about your transgressions, he will make you pay!"
Sly, however, was left unamused at the tiny demon's furious ranting and felt that it was time someone shut her up. "Anyone care to add insult to her injuries?"
"Allow me." Lilith said while marching forward and rolling up her sleeve. "I've been wanting to do this for ages."
"And you Lilith should know better than to keep crossing us!" Kikimora kept yelling, unaware of her former comrade's intentions. "Perhaps we've been a little too lenient before, and-What are you doing?"
Lilith answered by giving Kikimora a nasty punch in the eye that knocked her down to the ground and quickly made Murray blush. "Adding insult to injury, of course." Lilith said crossly.
"Wow, you got a nice arm, Lily!" Murray complimented the witch's strength. "You work out or something?"
"Boxing lessons." Lilith answered as she presented her bicep to Murray. "Maybe we could go a few rounds sometime?"
"It would be an honor!" Murray replied with a nod.
"Okay, Kiki, you officially lost." Sly stated while pointing his cane at Kikimora. "We blew up your weird little slime robot, and you got punched in the face. What do you have to say for yourself?"
However, Kikimora just gave an evil laugh to the raccoon's confusion in response. "Oh, Sly Cooper," she cackled confidently with a raise of one of the fingers covering her eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong." Almost immediately, Lilith began twitching in place while everyone else watched in horror. Strange yellow tendrils had now emerged from her arm while Kikimora kept laughing. "You might think that Lilith is no longer under the emperor's control, but all members of the Emperor's Coven receive a special brand that also serves as an immobilizing spell that we can use to subdue traitors whenever we please."
"Whoa, that looks like a real nasty rash." Murray observed the sigil's effect on Lilith. "Here, let me get that for you." While Murray began scratching Lilith's arm, his strength accidentally caused it to fall off her torso in a humorously anticlimactic fashion. "Oops."
All was quiet in the Clawthornes' courtyard as they stared awkwardly at the duo while the sigil continued overtaking the disembodied arm. On the other hand, Kikimora was more than stunned at Murray's accidental rescue. "The Cooper Gang is more of a threat than I thought."
"Hey, I was just trying to be a nice guy." Murray replied when he realized something. "Hey, is it me, or is she the right size to kicked sky high?"
"Uh, what are you doing?" Kikimora gulped in fright as Sly marched up to her and picked her up off the ground.
"Hey, you're right; she's so small!" Sly observed before he set Kikimora down like a football. "Yo Murray, let's see how far she goes!"
"Are they seriously doing what I think they're doing?" Eda said, picking King out of the Abomination goop while on the verge of laughter.
"Boys." Carmelita shook her head while the group watched Murray run up and kick the Emperor's Coven's leader sky high.
"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" Kikimora screamed as she flew so high that she could barely be seen anymore except for a twinkle in the evening sky.
"How far do you think she went?" Sly asked, looking up.
"Maybe more than nine or ten yards." Bentley calculated the angle of Kikimora's trajectory combined with the strength of Murray's kick. "Now that she's out of the way, let me see who made this Abomaton thing."
Rolling his wheelchair over to the remnants of Kikimora's muscle, Bentley was able to fish a hunk of metal from the wreckage with some writing on it. "Manufactured by Blight Industries." He read off the piece he found. "Hm, gonna have to look into those guys later." However, as Bentley continued examining the metal, his eyes soon laid upon a familiar sigil that made him gasp. "Uh, guys?"
"Something the matter Bentley?" Sly asked when Bentley showed him the image of a mouse's face right next to the writing he had discovered. "Oh, funny you should mention that. I've wanted to tell you, but then all this happened."
"What are you two talking about?" Carmelita wondered as she took the metal out of Bentley's hands to discover the symbol herself, while Murray and Dimitri looked over her shoulders. "Oh no."
"Oh no? Is something the matter?" Luz asked the Cooper Gang in concern.
"Uh, hey, Mrs. Clawthrone, we should come back inside." Sly declared nervously. "I feel like we got some more cookies in the oven we need to let out, so to speak."
The Emperor's Castle, 6:00 pm
Far from the Clawthorne residence, Kikimora had been retrieved from her battle with the Cooper Gang and was immediately brought into the Emperor's throne room, where Penelope stood by his side along with nine witches, all looking down on her.
Aside from Oozan, there was also an orange-skinned, purple-haired woman with green-tinted goggles and a lab coat holding an elixir, and a distinguished fellow with slicked-back graying hair, a blue suit, and light blue tie.
Along with them were a strange bug creature in ragged clothing, a muscular witch with a white fur jacket covering his bare, hairy chest, and a voluptuous dark-skinned woman dressed in revealing nurse attire. Also in the throne room were a stout man with an anchor tattoo and a five-o'clock shadow dressed in construction worker attire, a handsome young witch dressed all in red with a guitar hanging on his back, and a genie-like man with dark blue skin, a turban, a long beard, a pink belt with a purple eye symbol on the buckle, and a taunting grin on his face as he tilted his head to the side.
"That was utterly pathetic." Penelope scolded Kikimora harshly. "And you call yourself his majesty's wings."
"Please, your grace, I beg you to grant me mercy!" Kikimora bowed to her emperor in a desperate plea to regain his favor. "I simply got too cocky, and those thieves surprised me!"
"Don't cry, Kiki." Belos calmly interrupted his second in command. "But you are correct, these thieves are more capable than we're led to believe."
"See, I told you sending me out was a better idea!" Oozan advised.
"But how much would change if you went over there?" the orange-skinned scientist asked.
"She raises a good point." The witch in the suit agreed. "Now, can we make this quick? I have an election speech to give in Latissa, and I cannot keep my voters waiting!"
"Very well, you are all dismissed." Belos declared with a raise of his hand, allowing the Wild Witch Syndicate to disperse to their own plans.
"I'm telling you, sir, these witches will be trouble for us soon." Kikimora stated. "I can already tell that the moment they succeed in their plans, they'll decide to overthrow you when the Day of Unity comes!"
"You underestimate them." Belos replied. "The Titan has plans for them, as do I. If we are to eliminate all wild witches in time for the Day of Unity, then it takes a wild witch to know how they think."
"I said it once, and I'll say it again. I am sure that's a bad idea that will undoubtedly backfire on us." Kikimora objected to the emperor's plan. "No offense, my liege."
Belos said nothing, but Penelope just rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Remind me again why he keeps you around?"
Back at the Clawthornes' house, the Cooper Gang had just finished explaining their history with Penelope. About how Bentley had fallen for her before she suddenly vanished and turned over to Le Paradox, and how she had betrayed their trust under the warped belief that Sly was wasting Bentley's potential.
"Whoa." Luz gasped in shock at the story she had just heard. "So, was Penelope brainwashed, or was she always like that?"
"I'm not sure. We never asked for her backstory." Sly answered.
"I'm betting she was brainwashed too." Dimitri declared. "I mean, I was part of big job where my bros and I tried making everyone pissed off enough to bring back some crazy owl, so I know a thing or two about it."
"I'm betting it was an evil clone, and the real one is still out there!" Murray added, much to Dimitri's disbelief.
"So what, does that mean you guys been wasting time with the clone and everything was completely pointless?" Dimitri argued with his main man.
"Dimitri, you now believe in the multiverse and magic, yet evil clones are too farfetched for you to handle?" Bentley pointed out the frogman's hypocrisy, to which Dimitri replied with a shrug.
"Regardless, it seems you're not the only ones from that other world to come here." Lilith said. "And judging by Kikimora's appearance earlier, I fear the Emperor might be targeting us again."
"Don't worry, Lilith, we got your back." Sly said to the witch.
"Yeah, you're our friend Lulu, and nothing can change that!" Hooty replied, pecking at Lilith's face and giving her some kisses all over.
"Oh, thank you for your kindness." Lilith blushed. "But still, I feel like you may need my assistance for this one." She then turned to her mother. "Mom, I think I must return to the Owl House to assist Luz and Sly. Otherwise, I could put you and Father at risk if I continue staying here."
"Okay sweet flea, you can go." Gwendolyn agreed with her eldest daughter. "Besides, our research on the curse hasn't gotten us anywhere lately."
"Yay, you're coming home!" Hooty cheered at Lilith's decision.
"I can see someone's a little excited." Sly smirked at the house demon as he got up, only to realize he had forgotten something. "Oh no, the Thievius Raccoonus! Luz and I must've left it upstairs!" Fortunately for Sly, a little yellow bird flapped in carrying the Coopers' fabled book in its talons before dropping it into Sly's hands. There was now only one person Sly knew could be upstairs. "Hey, thanks, mister!"
"No problem Sly!" Dell's voice called from upstairs, the sound of which made Eda cringe a little.
"Okay, we're wasting daylight here; let's get back to the Owl House and start planning." Eda hastily declared as she got up and walked out the door while Owlbert in hand. "Mom, it's been nice seeing you again; tell Dad I said hi, byyyye!"
"Daddy issues, huh?" Murray asked. "Something the matter between them?"
"I don't know either, but let's not dwell on that." Sly stated. "We got some witches to stop. Gwen, if we ever find ourselves needing you, we'll make sure to give you a call."
"That would be delightful, Sly. See you soon." Gwen bade the gang farewell as they disembarked from her house and back to the van, just as Dell came downstairs. "Oh, Dell, you just missed Edalyn and her guests!"
"Don't worry, honey, I actually met one of them." Dell replied to his wife. "Seemed a little jumpy and secretive, but he also had a good heart. Especially around that little girl he was hugging."
The Owl House, 8:00 pm
'When we finally returned to the Owl House, Lilith wasted no time settling herself back in.' Sly narrated as the group settled down for the night. 'Just as we predicted, Carmelita and Lilith are getting along pretty well.' Sly turned his attention to the two women, sharing stories of Interpol and the Emperor's Coven over tea, and looking like they were enjoying each other's company. Meanwhile, King gave Murray and Dimitri a crash course on demons, while Bentley examined Luz's glyphs.
"The power of the elements in the palm of my hand." Bentley gasped in awe as he created a small icicle from an ice glyph. "What other wonders do these Isles possess?"
"I'm glad you asked." Luz said before presenting a little mouse-like demon to the turtle. "We call this little guy an echo mouse."
"A mouse?" Bentley wondered while adjusting his glasses. "What good can a mouse do for my research?"
"Just watch." Eda said before she pressed down on the critter's head and made light come out of it like a film projector, revealing to Bentley a man's silhouette holding a book as he strolled through the woods.
"My name is Philip Wittebane. And I have found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it." A man with an English accent, which Bentley immediately deduced to be the man on the screen, narrated to himself. "If only those at home could see what I have, and perhaps they shall."
"You mean to tell me we weren't the first to get stuck here?!" Bentley gasped in awe. "Luz, would you be so kind as to lend me that thing, so I study these projections?"
"Sure, the more, the merrier." Luz obliged.
'Looks like Bentley's gonna have a blast here.' Sly continued narrating as he watched Luz walk away to continue perusing the Thievius Raccoonus. 'And while Luz is off learning about my family history, I think I'll check out some of her books in exchange.' Sly then popped out a Good Witch Azura book and began to read through it.
CHARACTERS UNLOCKED!
Stealth: Sly, Luz, Eda, King
Smarts: Bentley, Lilith, ?, ?
Strength: Murray, ?, ?
Style: Carmelita, Dimitri, ?
And that should be it for Clawthorne and Order. Hoo boy, this was a long one. Longer than I expected really, but I think that might be because of that touching scene between Sly and Luz inspired by Reaching Out. After watching that episode when it premiered, it gave me the idea of having the two bond over shared familial trauma, though Luz should consider herself lucky that Camila wasn't brutally murdered by a total maniac with an unexplained burning hatred for her family. Which reminds me, next time the family continues to grow with the addition of Willow and Gus as Sly infiltrates Hexside for info on the Syndicate. Remind you of a certain episode featuring our favorite bad but sad boy? Anyways, stay greasy sweet my dudes!