AN: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood, one and all. As we reach the end of The Owl House's second season, and by extension the end of the show with the shortened third season due to some homophobic rats who force a certain mouse to act as their shield from criticism, I hope this story can also provide some solace for the fans who wanted so much more from the show. Anyways, last time Lilith had joined the gang and moved back into the Owl House to spare her and Eda's parents the wrath of the Wild Witch Syndicate. How does she fit into the group dynamic, and what capers await them next as they try to dig up more info on these new villains? These questions will be answered and more right now!
Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood
Chapter 4: Hex School Magical
The Owl House, 7:30 am
The gentle ringing of Luz's alarm clock roused Sly from his slumber once again as he turned on his side to face his new human sidekick and Carmelita, who was now clad in some sweatpants and a purple T-shirt with 'BAD GIRL COVEN' and a radical caricature of Eda on it over her Interpol uniform. "Morning, girls."
"Morning, Sly." Luz greeted the raccoon with a yawn. "How did you sleep last night?"
"Better than ever," Sly confidently replied. "now that I have my lady love back and sleeping with me & my new partner."
"Cut it out, Sly." Carmelita groaned in exhaustion as she got up to rub her eyes. "Come on, Eda must be making breakfast downstairs." As Luz walked out of the closet bedroom, Carmelita turned to Sly. "So, you and her, huh?"
"What about it?" Sly asked his cop crush.
"I mean, she's just a little human girl; you're a notorious raccoon thief." Carmelita replied. "What made you two click so well together?"
"Well, aside from the fact that we're both stuck here, I kinda see a little bit of myself in the kid." Sly responded. "That can-do attitude, devotion to her friends, guts, she's kinda like a tinier version of me." However, Sly's praise of Luz soon turned dour. "Plus, she knows what it's like to lose someone too."
"You sure?" Carmelita quizzed the thief. "She seems pretty upbeat to me."
"That's the thing; Luz lost family too." Sly confessed, shocking the Interpol officer. "She confessed this to me after discovering Clockwerk in the Thievius Raccoonus. Her dad is dead, and her mom is stuck in the human realm, waiting for Luz to come home someday."
"Hablan en serio?" Carmelita gasped.
"Uh, si." Sly answered, trying his best to imitate the fox's Spanish. "Look, you can say I might be a bad influence on Luz all you like, but aside from Eda, King, Hooty, Lilith, and a few others, I think, she's all alone in this place. So please, just give me the benefit of the doubt."
"I think I get it now." Carmelita realized. "Alright, I'll leave you two alone for a bit, but I'll still be watching you, Cooper."
"Guess some things never change." Sly smirked before he walked out of the closet. "You comin'?"
"Sure." Carmelita accepted, taking her criminal boyfriend by the hand as he picked her up off the floor, and walked downstairs together.
"Took you two long enough." Eda greeted Sly and Carmelita with a snort as she made breakfast. "Why, needed to get some good morning smooching in?"
"Eda!" Sly blushed with a grin. "Hey, where's the rest of my gang?"
"Oh, you mean Bentley and Murray?" Eda answered. "Well, Shellhead has been up all night researching the Boiling Isles, so I sent Dimitri to try and keep him from dozing off."
A sleeping Bentley, face covered in a book documenting the history of the Boiling Isles, was wheeled into the living room by a bathrobe and cucumber facial-wearing Dimitri with King on his shoulder. "Yeah, dudes, I think he out like a light."
"Being a nerd can do that to people." King chuckled.
"And as for the big guy, he and Lily decided to get some morning boxing training in." Eda continued, gesturing to a window next to the front door where everyone could see Murray and Lilith facing off in the front yard, with Hooty cheering his best witch friend on.
For her sparring match with the Murray, Lilith decided to tie her hair up in a ponytail while swapping her glasses and regular clothes for a black tank top with an Emperor's Coven sigil on the left side of her chest, a pair of white athletic shorts, and fingerless gloves. "On your left!" she cried, ducking beneath Murray's arm and jabbing him in his bare belly.
"Cheap shot!" Murray replied, giving the witch a few punches while making sure to go easy due to being opposites in terms of size.
"Woo, go Lulu!" Hooty cried, waving around a pennant with Lilith's name on it.
"Taking all bets guys, taking all bets!" Eda declared while watching the fight from outside.
"500 says Murray whips out the Thunder Flop!" Sly exclaimed.
"600 says Lilith pulls a surprise attack!" King declared, trying to beat Sly's bet.
"Good grief." Carmelita shook her head in annoyance.
"Morning, everyone." Luz greeted the group after having finished getting ready. "What are you all betting on?"
"Goth MILF and main man Murray duking it out!" Dimitri answered before looking down at Bentley, still fast asleep. "Hey Benny, wake up, will ya?!" he yelled, taking the book off Bentley's face and smacking him in the head with it, finally waking the turtle up.
"SHRIMP COCKTAIL!" Bentley exclaimed upon awakening when he realized it was morning. "Oh, good morning, everyone. How long was I out?"
"It's only 7:30, or whatever." Sly replied. "You must've been working overtime on your research, huh?"
"Can you blame me?" Bentley added while pouring himself some coffee. "There's so much I want to learn about this place! My findings could revolutionize our understanding of the universe as we know it!"
"Hey, I think Murray's ready for a finisher!" Dimitri cried, interrupting Bentley's rambling as the team watched the pink hippo knock his opponent to the ground before he jumped into the air.
"You better get ready Lily, 'cause here comes my THUNDER FLOP!" Murray yelled with his arms and legs splayed out as he slammed onto the ground, the resulting shockwave making Lilith fly into Hooty's grasp.
"Aw, man, I was really hoping you would win, Lulu." Hooty groaned in disappointment over his bestie's loss.
"I was hoping I'd get a win in too, Hootsifer." Lilith agreed before Murray tossed her a rag to wipe off the sweat on her face. "You did good, Murray."
"Chalk it up to years of experience." Murray proclaimed. "But hey, you weren't half bad either. Now let's go back inside. I'm starving!"
As the pair returned to the Owl House, Murray was met with applause for his victory, while Lilith's sweaty form gained Dimitri's admiration. "Love looks not with the eye, but with the mind." The lovestruck lizard soliloquized. "And therefore, is winged Cupid painted blind?"
"Oh, thank you, I guess." Lilith blushed in embarrassment while Carmelita carted Dimitri away from her. "I think I'll go hit the showers for a bit."
"I'll wash your back!" Hooty exclaimed as Lilith left for upstairs.
"Lucky bird." Dimitri grumbled while sitting down at the breakfast table and facing Luz. "So sport, what do you do around here?"
"I originally came here to learn magic, which made me want to train under Eda and later study at Hexside." Luz explained. "Hexside is one of the three big magic schools on the Boiling Isles, and I happen to be the first human student."
"Interesting." Bentley murmured while jotting down some notes. "You think any of these schools could tell us more about the Syndicate?"
"Not sure." Eda stated. "But I do happen to recognize some of the members as old classmates of Lilith and me."
"Sweet!" Murray exclaimed. "Hey, one question first. Are you guys sorted into houses at school like in the movies? What house are you in, Luz?"
"If by house you mean coven track, then all of them." Luz declared in response. "It's a long story."
"Coven tracks?" Carmelita wondered. "You mean like these nine covens we've heard about."
"Yep yep yep." King replied. "There are nine in total, each dedicated to one form of magic, like illusions, music, plants, making your own servants, potions, the works."
"That reminds me, I should be getting ready soon." Luz stated, finishing her breakfast and walking away.
"And we got another heist to pull off." Sly added. "I say we try and steal an old Hexside yearbook so we can learn all we need to know about these guys."
"Wouldn't it be easier just to use one of the yearbooks Eda has lying around?" King wondered.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Sly grinned, kicking his legs up on the table with a smug grin on his face. "Bentley, Murray, we're going back to school."
'Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, one of the big three magic schools of the Boiling Isles, alma mater of Eda and Lilith, and our next big target.' Sly narrated to himself while examining some old photos of the Clawthorne sisters' years at Hexside, including one particular picture of Eda holding hands with a dark-skinned witch with mint green hair and big glasses. 'Sure enough, Luz is also attending this school during her stay at the Isles, so while we could just walk in on her behalf and ask for one, some good ol' infiltration just seems more fun.'
Sly then turned his attention to a pamphlet promoting Hexside, and on it was the image of an aged man who looked like his head was being devoured by an imp that the brochure called its principal. 'But from what Eda tells us, we're gonna have to watch our backs breaking in or get a good taste of their rather messed up disciplinary measures.'
As Luz walked back downstairs in her Hexside uniform and disembarked for school, the Cooper Gang waved her goodbye while continuing to make plans for their big yearbook heist. 'Sounds like a challenge, and us Coopers love a challenge.'
SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:
HEX SCHOOL MAGICAL
"Here's the situation, everyone." Bentley narrated while using the scrying spell to present his plan to the gang. "Hexside has a moderately stern system, which means one false move could cause trouble for the mission. Sly, since you're the most youthful out of everyone in this room at the moment, we're sending you out to break into Hexside under the guise of a student."
"Sounds like a plan, but don't you think anyone will get suspicious of a big raccoon man walking around with high school students?" Sly asked his resident genius while being shown an image of some Hexside students.
"Oh please, we've all seen weirder 'round here." Eda chuckled. "Plus, I've seen human shows featuring grown men and women pretending to be teenagers."
"We got those on our world too." Sly proclaimed. "So, where can I get one of those uniforms?"
"I've actually arranged for the local tailor in Bonesborough to make you one." Bentley replied. "Once you secure the uniform, bring it over to me so I can make some modifications that'll allow you to look like you're capable of magic like your pretend peers."
"Seems like an awful lot of work for just one yearbook." Carmelita commented. "As King said, doesn't Eda have some lying around?"
"I do, but I just use most of them for kindling." Eda stated.
"Back on topic, once Sly has been admitted into Hexside, he'll assimilate into the student lifestyle while searching for the yearbook." Bentley continued, presenting an image of young witches in class in the cauldron, then it changed to one comparing Sly's cane to a witch's staff. "One problem, with at least one recent exception, witches receive their staffs upon graduation, so that means the cane has got to go."
"A shame, but sacrifices have to be made." Sly replied.
"It would seem so." Bentley nodded. "Now, let's get moving. Oh, and if you see Luz, be sure to say hi for me."
The Owl House, 8:15 am
When Lilith finally emerged from the shower, the Cooper Gang prepared for their big Hexside job when they turned to greet her. "Hey Lily, someone's smelling nice!" Murray said.
"Thank you." Lilith replied while tucking her hair beneath the towel on her head. "So, what are you all up to?"
"We gonna rob a school, babe!" Dimitri exclaimed.
"Dimitri means that we believe Hexside could possess some useful info on the Wild Witch Syndicate," Carmelita reiterated the frogman's declaration. "Since Eda likes to burn useful items, we're planning on stealing an old yearbook from the school."
"It's times like this where I wish I could've brought one with me." Lilith deadpanned.
"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Eda replied with a quote from Sly before turning to the Cooper. "You ready for this, Cooper?"
"As I'll ever be, but one question first." Sly answered before he pulled up another old photo of Eda and Lilith as teenagers. "Were you really redheads back in the day?"
"Yep, curse just makes me look older." Eda reminded Sly.
"And last night, Lilith told me she dyed her hair to try and look more intimidating." Carmelita added, embarrassing the witch while causing Sly, Murray, and Dimitri to start laughing uproariously.
"So you mean to tell me you're a forty-something-year-old woman in her goth phase?!" Sly cackled loudly.
"Like you're one to talk, Sly," Bentley smirked. "Remember your emo phase back when we were kids?"
"BENTLEY, NO!" Sly screamed in horror before the turtle pulled up some embarrassing pictures of Sly dressed in black leather with gaudy makeup and piercings. "Aw, you told me that was just between us!"
"Come on, Sly, these are just too priceless!" Bentley laughed along with the rest of the boys.
"How do you get so much metal in your ear?" King asked.
"You never told me you had an emo phase." Carmelita giggled while taking one of the photos for her, Lilith, and Hooty to examine.
"IT WASN'T A PHASE; IT WAS WHO I WAS! FOR LIKE, A MONTH!" Sly yelled as he grabbed the photo before realizing what he had just said. "Wow, guess I walked right into that one."
"Okay, we've had fun picking on Sly and Lilith, but we still got a job to do." Bentley said. "You know where to go, right?"
"Tailor, got it." Sly replied and prepared to disembark. "See you later."
Job: School Uniform Retrieval
Bonesborough Streets, 8:35 am
Not too far from the Owl House, Sly made his way to the medieval gothic-style town of Bonesborough. Hiding on the rooftops with a cloak over his head, the thief gazed at his new surroundings, at the witches and demons walking through the streets, the shops set up along the sidewalks, and Coven Scouts on morning patrol, which Sly took as a sign that he should stay on the roofs until further notice. He then proceeded to take out his binocucom to search for the tailor.
"Testing, testing, is this thing on?" Eda said, testing out the communication function of the binocucom as she connected with Sly. "Man, these binoc-whatsits ain't half bad! Wonder if Bentley is willing to lend me some? I haven't had anything to sell in ages!"
"Hey Eda, I'm in Bonesborough right now." Sly greeted the Owl Lady. "The tailor shouldn't be too far from here, right?"
"You betcha ringtail." Eda snapped a finger. "Just head on over and try not to get caught. I hear security's getting pretty tight lately."
Sly heard a fight break out at the nearby tavern, followed by an unlucky witch getting tossed out by a shorter witch dressed like a construction worker and his animal-like cronies.
"WHERE'S MY MONEY, YOU DAMNED LOUT?!" the construction worker yelled in his victim's face while grabbing him by the collar.
"I promise, Mr. Edifice, just give me more time!" the witch cried out desperately. "I have a family, for Titan's sake!"
"Well, I'll be sure to send them my regards once I throw you out." The handyman declared before he snapped his fingers. "Handymen, throw 'em in the back with all the others!"
"Yes, sir!" the four flunkies obeyed, grabbing the witch by each of his limbs and dragging him into a nearby carriage before shutting the doors on him.
"You won't get away with this, you traitors!" the witch cried out. "The Emperor is a menace to the Boiling Isles, he must be stopped!"
"Big talk comin' from someone who's gonna get the special treatment once we wheel you to the big man!" Mr. Edifice cackled as he sat up at the front of the carriage and whipped the ratlike worms pulling it to slither away.
"He seems like a pleasant guy." Sly remarked at what had just happened.
"Best look out for Mr. Cranky over there." Eda warned Sly. "Archer Edifice is one of the toughest mob bosses on this side of the Isles. Mess with him, and he'll repay in kind."
"Gotcha." Sly declared before returning to his mission.
Eventually, he reached the tailor and proceeded to knock on her door. An elderly woman opened the door for Sly and allowed him inside. "Hello there, young man. I hear you placed an order?"
"Yes, one Hexside uniform, please." Sly responded to the tailor, who then presented him with a light gray tunic with a matching cowl, boots, and belt, and white sleeves & leggings. "Thanks. And just my size too."
"You're very welcome." The tailor nodded before she motioned over to a changing room. "Now, right this way, please."
Sly walked on over to the changing room with the uniform tucked under his arm, and a few moments later, he emerged dressed as a full student of Hexside. "Not too shabby."
"Great work Sly," Bentley said over Sly's earpiece. "now just bring it over to my location so I can make some modification, and then it's off to school."
"Roger that Bentley." Sly responded.
"Pardon me, sir, but who's Bentley?" the tailor asked her customer.
"Oh, it's just an imaginary friend who tells me to do stuff." Sly responded, trying to hide his true intentions. "You wouldn't understand."
"Oh, I understand quite a bit." The tailor chuckled before turning to a spectral being that had just appeared beside her. "Isn't that right, Bobby?"
"PURGE THE INNOCENT, CLAIM THIS WORLD AS YOUR OWN," Bobby gravely commanded the tailor. "and be sure to refill on snacks. Seriously, I am getting hangry! Hangry enough to possibly devour your soul."
"Oh, you kidder, I'll make a list." The tailor giggled, making Sly see this as his cue to leave the shop slowly. "Bye now, have fun at Hexside!"
"Thanks again miss." Sly nervously giggled while closing the door behind him and leaving the tailor behind.
Returning to the rooftops away from the Coven Scouts, Sly eventually found Bentley awaiting him on the roof of a store called Mr. Elixir with tools from his wheelchair at the ready. "So, how was it?"
"The lady running the joint was nice, although I fear she might not be long for this world." Sly admitted to the turtle. "She's got a little friend that might consume her soul if she doesn't feed him."
"Yeah, that's disturbing." Bentley replied awkwardly. "Anyways, hand over the uniform, and I'll work my magic. In the meantime, try talking to the proprietor of this Elixir place. Eda says he'll be pretty useful on our missions."
While Bentley got to work on Sly's new uniform, Sly jumped back down the store to face a brown-haired young man wearing a funnel on his head. "Uh, can I help you, sir?"
"You know Eda, right?" Sly asked. "I'm a friend of hers."
"Wait, you mean that raccoon I've been hearing on the news?" the man asked before eagerly shaking Sly's hand. "It's a pleasure to see you in person! Name's Morton!"
"Nice to meet you too." Sly responded. "I hear you've been getting elixirs for Eda for years, and I hope that maybe you could do the same for my crew and me."
"You bet." Morton said. "If you ever need anything from me, you know what to do."
"All done, Sly, come on up!" Bentley exclaimed from the rooftops, causing Sly to climb up to find the turtle with a modified Hexside uniform. "With my adjustments, you'll be able to perform magic like the rest of them, even though you don't have a magic bile sac."
"Thanks, Bentley." Sly said gratefully before putting the uniform on again. "One question, what's a bile sac?"
"It's the biological source of a witch's magic." Bentley explained, presenting a diagram of a heart with a strange green bulb attached to it. "If this visual aid couldn't tell you, magic literally comes from the heart here."
"Clever." Sly chuckled at the wordplay. "Well, I'm off."
"One more thing." Bentley stopped the thief before handing him an apple. "Place this apple on the first desk you find. It's a listening bug that'll allow everyone back at the house to spy on the school."
"An apple for the teacher, nice." Sly grinned, putting the bugged apple in his backpack and running off.
JOB COMPLETE
"Bentley, come in Bentley!" Lilith called to Bentley through the binocucom. "We've heard one of the Syndicate is in town. Return to base immediately to avoid detection."
"On my way Lilith." Bentley obeyed before spinning his wheelchair around and hovering away, just as Archer marched through the streets searching for any intruders.
"Hey potion boy, see any suspicious activity around here?" Archer asked Morton, hopping up on the counter and grabbing the potionist by the neck.
"No, sir, it's just business as usual here." Morton nervously said, trying to hide his encounter with Sly from the violent witch. "Please don't hurt me."
"Okay, I'll let you live." Archer said before he tossed Morton away and hopped off the counter to continue making his rounds. But the handyman still had a sneaking suspicion that the elixir salesman was hiding something from him.
Job: School Reconnaissance
Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, 8:50 am
After some combing through the woods surrounding the school, Sly had arrived at the Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. It was just as massive and mysterious as he imagined, looking more like a castle than a schoolhouse. Almost like the magic schools he's seen in books and movies.
"Well, here we are, Bentley." Sly declared, gazing at the building in awe. "You feeling nostalgic?"
"I certainly am!" Murray exclaimed over Sly's earbud. "So, what, are we just gonna waltz in through the front door?"
"Not quite." Eda answered the hippo. "I got a whole labyrinth of secret passages hidden all over the school, and I think one of them should be hidden behind one of the bushes."
"Secret passages? Sounds like my kind of school!" Sly exclaimed as he searched for the bush that would lead him to the labyrinth. Eventually, he discovered a small door with a keyhole under the knob that seemed to blend right into the foundations and crawled through it.
"Thanks, Eda, this should be perfect for reconnaissance." Sly thanked Eda for her assistance while looking around at the countless doors surrounding him. "This is like a thief's paradise!"
"I get your excitement Sly, but don't get too cocky." Bentley warned his partner. "Should you ever get caught, there's a good chance you'll get chucked into the detention pit."
"I'm sorry, the what?" Sly stuttered in alarm.
"Just open the door that looks like a porthole." Lilith advised Sly, who opened the exact door Lilith was talking about and discovered a red-clad student getting dragged away by a guard with an upside-down skull for a head.
"No, please, I'm innocent, I've been set up!" the student begged for mercy while the guard hauled him to a massive door that looked like it had three eyes. "Just give me another chance!" The guard gave no answer, and when the door came alive and bared its spiky teeth, the student was tossed into the darkness within. "NOOOOOOO!"
"Ay ay ay, talk about Orwellian." Carmelita commented fearfully before the guard turned its head, as if it managed to detect Sly from his hiding spot.
"Seems like they're making good progress getting the pit fixed." Eda added.
"Trouble." The guard muttered eerily, but Sly quickly shut the door before he could be found out.
"Yeah, this place has some really tight security." Sly declared.
"Did you hear that student beg for mercy?!" Murray roared in disbelief. "Someone's gotta teach these kids to behave the right way! Like me, for example, I can be a good role model."
"Good to know you're so optimistic, Murray." Lilith said to the hippo. "Sly, use these passageways to gather as much intel on the coven tracks as you can. If you get caught, try your best to pass yourself off as a student."
"Roger that." Sly nodded. "And who knows? Since there's no doubt the students will be talking about me, maybe I should try changing myself some more. Like maybe…."
"Sly, are you going to do what I think you're going to do?!" Bentley exclaimed angrily.
"My signature…." Sly continued with a goofy grin on his face.
"Oh no," Bentley yelled. "NOT-"
"Italian accent-a!" Sly declared in the worst Italian accent he could muster up, much to Bentley's fury.
"SLY, YOU IDIOT, YOU'RE GONNA GET DETENTION FOR AN ACCENT THAT ABHORRENT!" Bentley shrieked.
"Ah, lighten up, Bentley. Who doesn't love a bad accent?" Eda cackled loudly.
"Seriously, who even talks like that?" King agreed with a giggle just as loud.
"Consider this payback for revealing my emo phase earlier." Sly smirked in his normal voice before he decided to open the first door he spotted. In front of him were students dressed in yellow, working with potions under the guidance of a bird-like instructor. "This must be the potions coven." Sly muttered before taking a picture.
"That was the track me and Lily were on." Eda commented as Sly closed the door behind him. "Hey, you remember Mixzela?"
"I remember how you two tried to replace one teacher's coffee with a sleeping potion to get out of a test, only for Mixzela to try and poison her." Lilith replied. "She never did recover from that explosion."
The next door Sly came across led him to a classroom where students made beings that looked like the Abomaton that Kikimora used, only without any armor or mechanical enhancements. "Hey, aren't those Abomatons?"
"Abominations, to be precise Sly." Bentley corrected as Sly took another photo and closed the door. "They're basically homunculi that you can conjure up to perform various tasks, whether basic chores or even fighting battles for you. Which reminds me, I should still investigate the Blights and their creation of those Abomatons."
The next door Sly found was one leading to a big greenhouse where plants seemed to grow higher than he could imagine. "Let me guess, plants, right?"
"Bingo." Bentley responded. "And it seems these plants can be used as force as well." As Bentley predicted, one plant suddenly came to life and began chasing after the student who grew it from the pot. "I'd stay away from that if I were you."
Sly continued opening doors and taking pictures of the various rooms he could find beyond them, opening his eyes to so many kinds of magic to use. One form of magic allowed its user to form constructs from the earth itself. Another seemed to be used for medical purposes. Music could also be used in various ways, as did illusions, telepathy, and taming animals. The possibilities began racing through the thief's mind as he gathered the intel the Cooper Gang needed with help from Eda's secret passages until he felt satisfied enough with his photos.
"Okay, guys, I got the photos." Sly declared as he climbed out of a door into a hallway. "Now what do I do?"
"Maybe try to squeeze yourself into one of these tracks to better fit in." King suggested just as Sly began hearing footsteps. "In fact, I think I hear someone."
"Stand cool, dude; I think that's school's big cheese!" Dimitri exclaimed when Sly turned around to discover the older man from the pamphlets.
"Hello there, young man." The principal greeted Sly rather intimidatingly. "May I help you?"
"Uh, Graziano?" Sly replied in his Italian accent before one of the guards hauled him away, not noticing the fake student accidentally dropping his cane.
"Oh dear, Sly's in trouble!" Bentley began panicking.
"Don't be such a worrywart Bents." Eda assured the paralyzed turtle. "Sly's gonna be in good hands."
JOB COMPLETE
Job: Meet Kevin Miller
Sly was dropped into the principal's office and sat down in a chair across from his desk, where he would now meet the principal face to face.
"Hello there, principal-a." Sly greeted, still with the Italian accent. "Lovely day we're having, no?"
"Yes, it's a nice day at the moment, but let's get on subject." The principal stated. "What were you doing in our school?"
"Oh, me? I'm a transfer from-a Glandus." Sly fibbed to keep up his image as a new student. "Call me, uh, Kevin Miller. Yeah, that's-a my name."
"Kevin Miller. Foreigner, I presume." The principal replied, stroking his chin. "Good to see someone realized what they were missing at Glandus. Anyways, I am Hieronymous Bump, and I shall be your principal. Normally, we'd have an entrance exam, but since you arrived so suddenly, I guess we'll have to skip straight to selecting your coven track."
"So, I get to choose; I'm not told where to go by-a a hat?" Sly commented, reclining in his chair and looking up at the banners above them.
"Oh no, we had a hat a long time ago." Principal Bump proclaimed. "It just had a bit of a taste for mortal flesh."
Looking around at the banners, Sly was interested in learning all of them like Luz did, but he also feared that more than one multi-track student would raise suspicion. So, he decided to make his choice. "I think I'll pick-a illusions. I-a do like-a tricking people."
"Excellent choice Mr. Miller." Bump nodded. "You know, there is also the option to learn more than one track. It's a recent development, but it's also become quite popular among the student body."
"Oh, I get to choose more than-a one?" Sly wondered, his worries seemingly alleviated as he examined the other possible choices. "I dunno, maybe-a potions?"
"Another good choice." The principal declared, and Sly's sleeves and legs turned a light blue and yellow with a wave of Bump's finger, signifying his chosen tracks.
"Grazie, my principal, I promise to be on my best behavior!" Sly thanked Bump before presenting the bugged apple and placing it on the desk. "Here, my friend, an apple on me!"
"My, you're quite a gentleman." Hieronymous chuckled. "Have a good rest of your day Mr. Miller." However, as Sly was about to leave, Bump's warm smile quickly turned foreboding. "But that doesn't mean I won't be keeping an eye on you."
The principal's door shut behind Sly, giving the new student free rein to brag about his accomplishment to everyone at the Owl House. "Well, that went easier than I expected. I mean, he bought my act hook, line, and sinker!"
"Ol' Bumpy has been getting softer since Luz enrolled. It's because of her that students are going multi-track." Eda agreed. "Makes me happy Faust retired. He would've torn you to shreds."
"And good work on remembering the apple too." Bentley declared. "Now we can listen in on anything Bump might say so that you can fetch the yearbook later. Now onto the hard part."
"Yep, blending in." Sly nodded. "This is gonna be high school all over again."
JOB COMPLETE
But what Sly didn't realize as he began roaming the halls of Hexside, he was being watched by a spy drone that possessed far more advanced technology than what was common on the Boiling Isles, and it bore Penelope's emblem over the Emperor's Coven symbol.
The Emperor's Castle, 9:15 am
"So, he's attending Hexside now?" Penelope wondered as she spied on Sly at the school. "Frankly, he seems a little too old for school anymore. Unless he has ulterior motives." Turning away from the screen showing her what the drone saw, Penelope began calling for assistance. "Hunter!"
Out of the shadows, a young blonde man dressed in a white & gold uniform who looked a little older than Luz emerged and faced Penelope with a scowl. "You needed me, Penny?"
"First off, don't call me that." Penelope commanded Hunter. "And second, the raccoon is on the move at Hexside. I want you to survey the area and terminate him once absolutely necessary. Are we clear?"
"You sure about this guy?" Hunter said smugly, pointing a thumb at Sly's image. "Seems like an awful lot of work for just one intruder."
"Are you going to keep disobeying your superior, or will I have to tell your uncle about little Flapjack?" Penelope threatened the boy, causing a little cardinal with a scar over its left eye to emerge from Hunter's uniform.
"You wouldn't." Hunter growled angrily at the mouse, protectively holding the bird in his hands.
"Maybe I will, maybe I won't, brat." Penelope hissed back, making the boy turn red with fury, when an ominous voice broke the tension between them.
"Anything the matter, children?" Belos purred as he strolled into the room, taking Penelope & Hunter by surprise as they frantically stood at attention, and Hunter hid Flapjack from his uncle's gaze.
"Nothing, your grace." The pair replied, bowing before the emperor while sneaking glares at each other.
"Your highness, my drone has detected Sly Cooper hiding out at Hexside." Penelope revealed to the ruler of the Boiling Isles. "I've already given the Golden Guard his mission to hunt that thief down."
"Excellent, Penelope." Belos nodded appreciatively before turning to Hunter. "And you are dismissed."
"Yes, uncle." Hunter obeyed and put on a golden mask that he pulled a white hood over, assuming his identity as the Golden Guard before leaving the room.
"Penelope, please walk with me for a bit." Belos offered the mouse, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her into the castle halls. "How are you enjoying the Isles so far, my dear?"
"Not having a good time, your majesty." Penelope answered morosely. "Outside of you and Kikimora, to an extent, no one here likes me."
"That's because they're afraid of you, little one." Belos declared. "They're afraid of the power your mind holds, of its destructive potential. They simply can't understand geniuses like you, child."
"Kind of like how Sly didn't understand how he was holding me back." Penelope added. "He just didn't get it, Bentley and I could've been the most powerful couple in the world, but he forces us to do his dirty work as criminals!"
"Ah yes, that Bentley fellow." Belos commented. "Don't you worry, once Sly and his allies are in our grasp, we'll make sure to have Bentley delivered straight to you, so he can watch as his friends are petri-" Before the emperor could finish, he began dropping to his knees while twitching uncontrollably. "Oh, what now?! Not again!"
"It's your illness, my lord; I'll fetch you a Palisman!" Penelope exclaimed frightfully, and she ran off just as Belos began painfully shapeshifting into a hideous sludge-like beast whose form could be deemed indescribable to the common man. Though she was given a scare when returning with a raccoon-like Palisman, Penelope bravely stepped forward and handed the familiar over to her emperor, who mustered enough strength to break the Palisman into pieces and absorbed the essence within.
"Your assistance is most appreciated, my dear." Belos wheezed as he returned to his senses and stood back up, revealing that his mask had fallen off, and beneath it was an elderly man with ash-blonde hair, blue eyes, and a green scar stretching across his face. "The Titan will be very pleased with your efforts."
"Anytime, Phillip." Penelope bowed to her emperor.
Far from Penelope and Belos, two dark-skinned witches stood face to face in a dark room, examining a newspaper revealing Sly's existence to the Boiling Isles. Their expressions showed varying degrees of concern, but the witch that looked to have an Abomination for hair was quite fascinated with the thief. "So, this Sly Cooper has been making a real name for himself." He grinned. "I quite like his style. He'd make a fine addition to the rebellion."
"I agree Darius, but it's too risky." The other witch with mint green hair and glasses objected to their comrade's idea. "He's already a wanted criminal, so that could attract too much attention towards us. Have you seen the bounty Penelope put on him?" They then presented a wanted poster calling for Sly's head, promising one million snails to whoever captures him.
"Are you sure you don't want to attract attention, or are you afraid Eda will get jealous?" Darius smirked cheekily, making his fellow rebel blush just as the two heard a knock on the door. "That must be Eber. Care to let them in, Raine?"
Raine opened the door to allow an orange-furred creature with yellow and red eyes into the room. "Got anything, Eberwolf?" Eberwolf leaped onto Raine's shoulder and whispered into their ear, which Raine translated for Darius. "They say Sly is on the move. Penelope's found him at Hexside and has already sent the Golden Guard after him."
"Hexside?" Darius repeated incredulously. "What could he possibly want there?"
"Anything the matter, head witches?" Penelope asked as she opened the door, taking the three rebels by surprise as they tried to act natural.
"Nothing, Lady Penelope." Raine answered, trying their hardest to hide their disdain towards the mouse.
"Okay then." Penelope replied before she walked away. As soon as they were out of her earshot, the three witches started talking again.
"I swear, that mouse keeps getting her nose in everything." Darius complained. "If we're not careful, this whole operation could be unraveled, and we're all as good as petrified!" Eberwolf opened their mouth to reveal their fangs in response, which the head witch of the Abomination coven understood. "No, we're not going to eat her, as much as I would rather have her dead and buried!"
"Guess we'll have to lay low for a while." Raine concluded. "She has eyes all over the Isles thanks to those drones, so it's a safe bet she'll be watching us too."
As the three witches parted ways, Raine picked up the newspaper and gave one last look at the silhouette of Sly that dominated the front page. "Heh, this guy does kinda seem like Eda."
Job: Ciao Kevin Miller
Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, 9:20 am
Back at Hexside, Sly, or Kevin Miller as the school will soon know him, tried his best to disappear into the crowds as he continued walking through the hallways while students conversed with one another as they transitioned between classes. Though he tried his best to act like an ordinary teenage witch, even with the horrendous Italian accent, Sly still was concerned that someone would point out how old he looked compared to everyone else.
Sly found a three-eyed, pink-skinned witch whose uniform indicated she was on the potion track like he was talking with her friends and walked on over to them to try and blend in. "Hello, how do you do, fellow children?"
"Uh, hello, can we help you?" the pink witch asked nervously. "And what's with the stupid voice?"
"See, she agrees with me!" Bentley yelled over the earbud.
"It's not-a stupid. I'm an immigrant from the Groin!" Sly said defensively, coming up with the first body part that came to mind. "My name is-a Kevin Miller, I'm on the same track as you. Hope we-a can become friends."
"Is it me, or does he look a little too old to be coming here?" one of the pink witch's friends whispered to the other, making Sly yip in surprise that he may be found out. So, he tried to change the subject instead.
"Hey, that-a third eye of yours." Sly pointed out his potions classmate's third eye on her forehead. "Does it-a make you psychic?"
"What?!" the three-eyed witch yelled angrily.
"Way to make a good first impression, bro." Dimitri snarked as Sly was pinned against the wall for his insensitive comment.
"Listen, pal, my third eye doesn't make me psychic, but it does tell me when someone is insulting me!" the three-eyed witch snarled in Sly's face. "I suggest you watch your back if you know what's good for you!"
"I'm sure he didn't mean it, Boscha. Now just chillax, and let's go." Boscha's other friend tried calming Boscha down and taking her away from Sly.
"Boy, someone's in a bad mood-a." Sly deadpanned while Boscha continued glaring at him as she walked off with her posse.
"I get you wanted to act natural so no one could figure you out, but it would've helped if you sounded less rude." Carmelita scolded Sly.
"Cut me some slack; I haven't gotten the chance to work on my social skills lately." Sly argued with his girlfriend.
"Eh, leave him, Carms." Eda stated with a shrug. "That girl kinda had it coming for always picking on Luz and her pals."
"That Boscha could really use a few lessons in niceness." Murray added. "Maybe the Murray could be a gentle, guiding hand for her to hold."
"That would be interesting to watch." Sly chuckled just as he heard a dog bark. Turning around, Sly discovered a little dog-like creature with a pair of glasses and purple & yellow sleeves on his front legs. "Hey, little guy, you lost? Nice outfit, by the way."
The dog gave Sly another bark, which a skinny boy dressed in green and pink translated for him. "Barcus says, "You're mocking me, aren't you?" he said while walking with a blue and orange-clad girl with a fish-hook earring. "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."
"Yes, it's-a me, Kevin Miller!" Sly joyfully greeted the trio in his fake accent. "Ah, so glad to see some-a fellow multi-trackers here. I was-a going to stick with just illusions-a, but the good principal told-a me all about how popular it's-a becoming!"
"What's with that funny accent?" the girl whispered to her friend.
"Hey, who you callin' funny-sounding?" Sly said to the girl. "No need to-a prey on the new kid-a."
"Hey, I didn't mean it like that, it's just that you sound so ridiculous." The girl assured Sly. "Name's Viney. This is Jerbo, and I think you already know about Barcus."
"So-a he has a name?" Sly wondered, looking down at Barcus, who gave another yip. "What's he-a saying now?"
"Barcus hopes to see you in one of his potions classes, since you guys are on the same track." Jerbo translated for the dog-like witch.
"Oh, the pleasure is all-a mine, kids, but I've got-a other business to attend to." Sly replied before he spotted Luz with three other witches her age passing by him, Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus. "Bentley, I found Luz!" he spoke into his earpiece.
"Good, try and follow her to whatever class she has next." Bentley ordered Sly, who began tailing the four witches.
"Hey, hate to-a cut and-a run, but I got someone to talk to." Sly apologized to the trio as he left. "Laters!"
"So I said, "why the long face?" Get it, because horses have long faces?" Luz told a joke to her three friends while Sly followed them, but the friends didn't seem amused at it.
"Gonna be real with you, Luz," one of Luz's friends, a dark-skinned boy on the illusion track, admitted. "I don't think I get it."
"Yeah, like, why does a horse have such a long face, exactly?" a chubby witch with Asian features, dark gray-blue hair, olive-green eyes behind a pair of glasses, and a green uniform agreed.
"Well, I still found it pretty funny." A third girl in pink with short lilac hair with hints of brown smiled at Luz.
"Yeah, at least you tried, kiddo." Sly agreed with the girl, causing Luz to turn around in surprise and smile at her big raccoon friend behind her.
"Sly!" Luz cried in delight and gave Sly a big hug while the other three kids stared at him in shock.
"What? Who's-a Sly? My name is-a Kevin Miller!" Sly fibbed in his Italian accent to prevent anyone from getting suspicious. "You must-a be talking crazy!"
"Come on, you're a bit of a celebrity here now." Luz assured Sly before turning over to her friends. "Amity, Willow, Gus, I'd like you to meet Sly Cooper."
"No way, the thief from the news?!" Gus gasped in amazement. "I never guessed you were, like, an actual raccoon man. Wait, did humans go extinct, and animals become the supreme rulers of the world in their place?"
GUS PORTER. THE HUMAN ENTHUSIAST.
"How did you get here?" Willow asked. "Is there another portal to the human world that we don't know about?"
WILLOW PARK. THE GARDENER.
"What are you doing here at Hexside?" Amity added.
AMITY BLIGHT. THE GIRLFRIEND.
"Hey, I've heard of you. You're the awesome girlfriend, right?" Sly asked Amity. "Luz told me about you."
"Yep, that's me." Amity replied while holding Luz close.
"So, what made you wanna dress up like a Hexside student, Sly?" Luz asked the thief.
"I'm actually trying to get info on the Wild Witch Syndicate here." Sly stated. "We could've had Eda or Lilith dig up a yearbook, but this is just way more fun."
"I see you're in the illusions track with me." Gus commented on Sly's uniform colors. "Can you show me what you got?"
"Well, I can't really perform magic like some of you guys, but my friend made some modifications to the uniform to help me fake it." Sly explained to Gus. "Just watch." Pressing a few buttons on his sleeve, Sly drew a circle with a hidden flashlight and made a holographic version of himself appear from thin air. "See what I mean?"
"Whoa!" the kids gasped in wonder.
"You think that's cool?" Sly declared while reaching behind his back. "Then have a look at…." However, instead of his cane, Sly found himself grabbing at nothing. "At…"
"Wait, something is missing." Luz began to conclude.
"Oh no, I lost my cane!" Sly exclaimed in fright at the loss of his prized family heirloom. It could be anywhere in the school, in the hands of another student, a faculty member, or maybe even stuck in the trash somewhere. He had to get it back and quick. "I must've dropped it when Bump caught me!"
"Wait, you lost your cane?!" Bentley yelled from Sly's earpiece. "This is bad, who knows where it could be now!"
"You mean this cane?" Willow asked, pulling out a newspaper depicting a silhouette of Sly and his cane against the moonlight.
"Yeah, it's super important to him and his family!" Luz replied. "We'll help you find it, Sly. Where did you last see it?"
"I was spying on all the classrooms using all these secret passages that Eda carved out in the school, and I think I remember getting out of one from the lockers." Sly explained. "We need to search the whole school."
"We're right behind you, Sly!" Luz exclaimed. "Amity, Willow, Gus, you're coming with!"
"Hey, any friend of Luz is a friend of ours!" Gus replied as the thief and the students began searching the school.
Meanwhile, in the exact hall where Sly dropped his cane after being found by the principal, the Golden Guard suddenly appeared in a flash of red light, where he discovered the cane at his feet and picked it up. "Hm, a Palisman?"
"Hey, get away from my cane!" Sly yelled at the Guard as he, Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus cornered him. "Listen, pal. We don't have to fight like this. Just hand it back to me, and I won't have to kick your butt."
"This?" the Guard taunted while presenting the cane in his hand. "I've been told this is very important to you, Sly. But what could it possibly be?" Out of curiosity, the masked man began tugging at the golden crook at the end of the cane, further enraging Sly.
"Listen, Hunter, just give it back." Luz warned the Golden Guard. "Please, that cane is incredibly valuable to Sly's family. You have no idea what you're doing to him."
"What could I possibly do to him with this mere trinket?" Hunter coldly said, only to be proven wrong when Sly let his anger take the wheel, and he furiously tackled Hunter with a roar, causing the cane to fly out of the Guard's hands.
"Someone grab it!" Sly yelled while his trusted weapon soared through the air when suddenly, Barcus leaped up and grabbed it between his teeth like someone was playing fetch with him. "Barcus!"
"Kevin, is that you?!" Jerbo exclaimed as he, Viney, and some other students of Hexside gathered to discover what was happening.
"So the accent was fake!" Viney added in surprise.
"Yo, is that Sly Cooper?!" one student dressed in brown asked.
"Yeah, I think it is!" a purple-clad student with a moon-shaped head replied.
"Well, it looks like the secret is out." Sly sighed in defeat as he got up. "Yep, it's me, everyone."
"Requesting backup, the Cooper's mad!" Hunter ordered into a phone shaped like a crow with his back to Sly.
"Guys, I got my cane back, but we got company!" Sly spoke into his earpiece. "Looks like the Emperor's Coven found us out."
"Aw farts, I should've known they'd still be watching us." Eda groaned frustratedly. "Hang tight, ringtail, we're coming for you!"
"I don't think so." Hunter ominously declared before he brandished his staff and clashed it with Sly's cane, prompting everyone around them to start chanting as Principal Bump arrived on the scene.
"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"
"Okay, who's fighting now?" Bump sardonically declared while squeezing his way into the growing crowd of young witches.
"Kevin Miller was Sly Cooper!" a female student in red cheered.
"What?!" Bump gasped at the fight before him and pulled out the newspaper confirming Sly's existence. "I should've known that accent was fake! What's he doing disguised as a student?!"
"I'll explain later, sir!" Sly hurriedly assured his fake principal as he continued fighting the Golden Guard. Suddenly, the red gem at the end of Sly's opponent's staff began to glow, causing the two to disappear in a flash of red and leaving their audience stunned at their sudden departure. For all the students and Principal Bump knew, Sly and the Golden Guard could be anywhere now.
Hexside Rooftops
In another flash of red, Sly and Hunter were suddenly facing off on the roofs of the school, cane still hooked onto staff before the Guard let out a blast that freed him from the raccoon's grasp and made Sly stumble back a bit. "Allow me to ask you a question, Sly Cooper. Why are you infiltrating Hexside?"
"I'm looking for information on the Wild Witch Syndicate, since I've heard some of their ranks attended this school." Sly revealed to Hunter while fighting back laughter. "Also, is your name seriously Hunter? What are you, some wannabe edgelord?"
"This edgelord is the right-hand man to my uncle, the emperor." Hunter declared boldly as he pointed his staff at Sly. "I've been sent here under his and Lady Penelope's orders to investigate your operation and bring you in. So, any last words before my men take you away?"
"Yeah, I got a question of my own." Sly grinned. "Ever hear of the Murray?"
As if right on cue, the Cooper Gang's van barreled through the front gates of Hexside and skidded to a halt in front of the school, just as a blimp carrying some Coven Scouts happened to park right next to them.
"How were they able to find us out?!" Lilith yelled as the gang stepped out of the van to face the Coven Scouts.
"I don't know; maybe they had a spy or something?" King suggested while hanging on Murray's back.
"We had a drone show us everything." One of the scouts said. "Courtesy of the emperor's new ally Penelope."
"Of course." Carmelita facepalmed before she pointed her shock pistol at the scouts. "Hands where I can see them, masked marauders!"
"The thief's accomplices." The leader of the scouts stated before brandishing his spear. "You have no right to arrest us like common crooks, fox! Now lay down your arms and surrender!"
"No one tells the Murray to surrender and survives!" Murray bellowed as he charged at the guards and began thrashing them, their masked faces only seeing the hippo's pink fists.
"RESTRAIN THE HIPPO, HE'S DERANGED!" another one of the scouts hollered as they tried their best to incapacitate Murray, but some were just too occupied with the rest of the gang while the students huddled at the windows to watch the action.
"Hey, is that Eda and the Cooper Gang?" Luz wondered while spectating her mentor fighting the scouts. "I have to help them!" Racing outside with glyphs in hand, Luz slapped a plant glyph on the ground that spawned vines to tangle the scouts with.
"Thanks for the save!" Eda congratulated Luz before she looked up at the fight between Sly and the Golden Guard. "So, who's gonna go up and help him out?"
"I'll go." Carmelita declared. "Someone lift me up."
"Here, miss." Jerbo offered while the students crowded outside, and he summoned an Abomination to pick the inspector up. "Abomination, throw!"
"I'm sorry, what?" Carmelita stuttered in alarm, but she didn't have time to regret asking before the Abomination tossed her up to the roofs. Luckily, Sly was able to catch her just in time. "Sly!"
"My my, looks like I'm your knight in shining armor once again." Sly declared with a flirty eyebrow raise while gazing at the officer in his arms.
"Just put me down and let me help you against him." Carmelita ordered her boyfriend.
"Ah, Carmelita Fox, I presume." Hunter analyzed as Sly put Carmelita down. "I have sources that told me how often you allied with the wrong side of the law for their own ends." He shook his head in shame and disbelief. "A true pity, really. A mockery of law enforcement if I ever saw one."
"One more word, or you'll be getting a couple dozen volts to the face behind that mask of yours." Carmelita growled threateningly while pointing her shock pistol at the Guard's face. "We often ally to face a common threat, and your boss is no different!"
"Whoa, Foxy, save some for me!" Sly exclaimed while preparing his cane for another fight. However, Hunter quickly vanished into red particles and reappeared to try and attack Sly with his staff, only for Sly to disappear as well. He had replaced himself with a hologram using Bentley's projectors in his Hexside uniform, and the real Sly clashed weapons with Hunter.
"How?!" Hunter exclaimed as he fought off Sly and Carmelita at the same time.
"Let's just say I have a friend." Sly grinned. "Carmelita, now! While I got him distracted!"
"On it!" Carmelita exclaimed and pulled the trigger on her pistol, firing a lightning bolt that knocked the Golden Guard's staff out of his hands.
"Oh no!" Hunter yelled as the staff fell too far for him to reach. Although neither Sly nor Carmelita could tell because of his mask, the guard realized he had no other choice. "You know, this reminds me. I have a little surprise for you." The masked boy then presented a red cardinal hiding inside his uniform, which he turned into a staff not unlike Owlbert. "My own Palisman. Surprised, huh?"
"Okay, I did not see that coming." Sly commented before he turned to Carmelita. "Luckily, my girl and I have been around Palismen long enough to know what to do."
"You, mostly." Carmelita added. "I only came here yesterday."
Hunter interrupted the exchange by firing magic blasts from his Palisman at the pair, and Carmelita retaliated by firing more paralyzing shots from her shock pistol to keep him occupied while Sly tried to subdue him. Once again, Hunter used his staff to teleport, and it collided with Sly's cane for a second time.
"Try and catch me!" Sly yelled excitedly, causing multiple holographic copies of himself to appear out of his sleeve to disorient Hunter. While the holograms circled Hunter, he tried flying away from them to gain a better view of the battlefield so he could tell which one was real, but as it turned out, the real raccoon was grabbing onto the end of his staff.
"You!" Hunter yelled in shock.
"This is for nearly breaking my cane." Sly growled before he punched Hunter in the face, sending the boy falling face-first onto the roof and breaking his mask. As it crumbled apart, Sly and Carmelita soon realized that the emperor's stooge they just faced seemed younger than they thought. "Whoa, he looks like he could've been friends with Luz."
"He seemed powerful enough to be top dog of Hexside." Carmelita added. With the battle won, Sly hoisted the Golden Guard's body over his head and presented it to his fake classmates, and they began chanting his phony name to celebrate his victory.
"KEVIN, KEVIN, KEVIN, KEVIN!"
"Why Kevin Miller?" Carmelita asked as she turned to Sly.
"I dunno, just seemed funny in my head." Sly shrugged. "Now, how are we going to get down?"
"Allow me!" Willow exclaimed as she conjured up a beanstalk for the pair to climb down to meet everyone else.
JOB COMPLETE
As Sly and Carmelita returned to solid ground with the defeated Golden Guard in tow, students began overwhelming Sly in excitement, barraging him with questions about where he came from, what his family was like, what his cane was made of, and more. Despite the mob surrounding him, Sly eventually found enough room to toss Hunter over to the coven scouts. "Hey scouts, I think you lost this!"
Tossing Hunter at the scouts' feet, Sly watched as they realized that the thief was more dangerous than they thought and began scrambling to escape. "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"
"Lilith." Hunter groaned, turning his head to face his former comrade while the scouts carried him back to their blimp.
"Hunter." Lilith responded just as venomously. "How does it feel to be bested, brat?"
"I have to say; Sly did pretty good out there." Hunter responded before turning to the raccoon man. "But know this, next time we meet, I will want a rematch."
"I'll be seeing you." Sly smirked at the guard as the blimp took off with the cowardly scouts in tow, before looking down at his cane. "Can't believe he'd sink that low."
"Mr. Miller, or rather, Sly Cooper?" Principal Bump called for Sly in a rather ominous fashion while standing among the schoolchildren. "Allow me to ask you again. What made you want to disguise yourself as a student?"
"Uh, Bump, was it?" Bentley said, wheeling up to the principal. "First off, hi, the name's Bentley. I'm with Sly and Luz. And second, we came here because we're on the hunt for a yearbook that might help us learn more about a criminal syndicate we've heard about."
"Well, why didn't you just walk up and ask?" Bump grinned in realization.
"I mean, where's the fun in that?" Sly declared while Viney walked up and healed his wounds. "So, you willing to hand it over?"
"I shall." Bump nodded. "But on the condition that you are never to attend this school as a student again. Understand?"
"Fair enough. I'm too old for this place anyways." Sly commented before turning to Luz. "Well, kid, looks like we're almost there!"
"Finally!" Luz cheered as the principal began leading the gang to his office.
"Oh, and by the way." Bump stopped for a moment and presented the bugged apple to Sly. "Here's the apple you gave me. I tried taking a bite out of it, and now I think I need my stomach pumped."
The Emperor's Castle, 9:50 am
"Oh, poor Hunter." A massive creature dressed similarly to a plague doctor shook his head in disgust while he and Penelope watched a news reporter discuss the events at Hexside on a crystal ball. "He should've realized what he was in for once you sent him out against the thief."
"That was my point, Warden Wrath, to give the boy that slice of humble pie he's been deserving for ages." Penelope revealed. "That arrogant little boy thinks that he gets special treatment because he's the emperor's nephew over everyone else."
"Hey, aren't you kinda getting special treatment too?" Warden Wrath asked. "You kept buttering his majesty up about how you needed someone who could realize your full potential or something like that."
"Did I ask you for your two cents?" Penelope replied curtly as Hunter was wheeled in on a stretcher. "Ah, and here's the boy of the hour. I saw what happened on the news."
"Oh, laugh it up Penny." Hunter snarled angrily as he took off his mask and sat up to glare at the mouse. "Let me guess. Was this another way to humiliate me in front of him?"
"Maybe, or maybe not." Penelope responded smugly.
"I can see why Bentley broke up with you." Hunter frowned, causing the mouse to snap before grabbing the boy and wringing her hands around his neck. "What's the matter?!" he gasped in between chokes. "Mad because I said he deserves better than you?!"
"Just shut your trap for once!" Penelope screamed while strangling the Golden Guard. "I can see why Lilith hated you so much! Beneath that mask, you're just a bratty little runt who thinks everything has to be about him!"
"Lady Penelope, control yourself!" Warden Wrath tried splitting the bickering duo up, but Penelope's grip on Hunter's neck got even tighter despite the warden's efforts.
"Anything the matter here?" Belos icily asked as he strolled into the dark room, scaring Penelope into letting go of his nephew and kneeling in reverence of the emperor.
"Pardon my tone, my liege, but maybe you should stop entering like that." Wrath suggested to his superior. "Anyways, I suppose you heard of Hunter's failure at Hexside?"
"I indeed have, and I will make sure he is punished accordingly." Belos replied, sending shivers down the Guard's spine while Penelope grinned eagerly at her rival's expense. "And as for you, Penelope, I have a special task for you now."
"What do you request, my lord?" Penelope asked as the emperor presented footage gathered by her drone of Bentley, Murray, Eda, Lilith, Dimitri, Carmelita, and King.
"I want you to gather the Syndicate at once. I fear the raccoon and his allies are onto them." Belos declared. "Inform them of everyone who has participated in the raid and send them to their respective tasks for Operation: Ticking Clock."
"You have my word." Penelope obliged before turning to the warden. "You, bring Hunter over to Medico so he may be in fighting shape for his uncle."
"Understood." Wrath nodded in compliance as he wheeled the stretcher away, with Hunter giving Penelope one last angry look before he disappeared.
'So after all the trouble we went through, good ol' Bumpikins decided to hand over the yearbook we wanted.' Eda narrated as her former principal presented the yearbook to the gang, and Sly took it from his hands. 'Now we can finally hunt down the first three members of the Wild Witch Syndicate, aka some old schoolmates of Lilith and I.'
'Once we returned to the Owl House, we started flipping through all the students per each coven track during Eda and Lilith's era. Indeed, the sisters were able to recognize them immediately.' Sly continued for Eda back at the Owl House while the gang examined the yearbook. Right off the bat, Eda was able to identify a fellow potions student who had a pair of green-tinted goggles over her eyes and a pair of fangs in her teeth. 'All the more easier to take these three down. But of course, we could use a little help.'
Just then, Luz had returned home from school, accompanied by Willow, Gus, and Amity so they could properly meet the rest of Sly's gang. 'Her friends happen to be on the same coven tracks that some of the wild witches represent, and I'd be happy to find any help we can get.'
'Still, that Hunter kid though.' Sly began musing on his battle with the Golden Guard. 'He may act all smug and arrogant, but judging by what Luz would later tell me, combined with the good look at his face I got, he's just a kid who really couldn't stop making bad choices. And how did he get his hands on a Palisman, too? I'll have to ponder on that later. Right now, the real fun's about to begin.'
The Emperor's Castle, 3:05 pm
Meanwhile, back at the Emperor's castle, the Wild Witch Syndicate had finally assembled under Penelope's orders, each member to be sponsored by the head witches of the nine covens.
Oozan was the first to arrive as he met with Darius and put his abomination arm on the head witch's shoulder. "Ah, Darius old bear, it's been too long!"
"I see you've recovered nicely from losing your arm." Darius commented while brushing Oozan's arm away. "Never would I see the day I'd ally with a wild witch."
"Then how about allying with an old friend?" Oozan suggested.
"ABOMINABLE BOSS" OOZAN SLUDGIOS
BOUNTY: 1,000,000,000 SNAILS
Meanwhile, an orange-skinned mad scientist with purple hair and fangs was busy mixing elixirs with Vitimir, the head of the Potions coven, causing one of them to explode in her face. "Wow, that was wild!"
"MAD SCIENTIST" MIXZELA GLASS
BOUNTY: 2,000,000,000 SNAILS
"Can you please hurry it up? I'm on a tight schedule here!" Adrian Graye Vernsworth, head witch of the Illusions coven, complained as a witch in a sharp blue suit spent what felt like hours trying to make himself look presentable.
"A good politician must always look their best." The other witch declared as he slowly combed his slicked-back hair. "And done!" Jauntily departing from his vanity mirror, the witch marched away with Adrian, unaware that the head witch had noticed something wrong.
"Pardon me, Mirector, but is that a wrinkle on your suit?" Adrian pointed out an errant crease on his charge's attire.
"Don't worry, nothing that illusions can't fix." Mirector declared with an adjustment of his tie before making the wrinkle vanish with a snap of his fingers.
"POLITICIAN" MIRECTOR NARCISSO
BOUNTY: 1,500,000,000 SNAILS
"No, please, I'm begging you! Have mercy!" an unfortunate coven scout screamed in horror as a bug-like monster bit deep into his neck and sucked out his vital fluids. "It wasn't my fault the Golden Guard failed!"
"Your resistance is only making me hungrier!" the voracious beast bellowed as he sucked harder on the scout's neck while an insidious old woman watched with sadistic glee.
"I quite like your style, Seru." Terra Snapdragon, head witch of the Plant coven, smiled evilly.
"HIDEOUS MONSTER" SERU VENYRAP
BOUNTY: 9,000,000,000 SNAILS
"AHAHAHAHA, GET BACK HERE BEAST!" a rugged outdoorsman with a bare, hairy chest covered only by a vest made from the hide of a Slitherbeast and a big beard laughed boisterously as he playfully chased Eberwolf. "I wonder what I could possibly make out of you? Perhaps a nice pair of slippers, or a drink cozy!"
"MIGHTY HUNTER" OGNSTA WHITE
BOUNTY: 4,000,000,000 SNAILS
"You have been such a good boy, Hunter." A voluptuous female witch in revealing blue nurse's scrubs congratulated Hunter on his successful checkup and handed him a lollipop. "Here, for you."
"This isn't laced with poison, right?" Hunter asked nervously while the nurse stood next to Hettie Cutburn, the head witch of the Healing coven.
"You won't know unless you tried it." The nurse replied with a gentle smile, only for it to be quickly replaced with a mischievous grin laced with violent glee. "Besides, when your precious uncle is finished with you, you'll be wishing you were poisoned."
"BACK ALLEY DOCTOR" MEDICO VALENTINE
BOUNTY: 2,500,000,000 SNAILS
"That's right, keep it moving ya idjits!" Archer Edifice loudly commanded a group of coven scouts as they worked tirelessly on a massive mechanical owl. "The emperor wants this freak of nature done ASAP! Any slacking off won't be tolerated!"
However, one of the scouts slipped while carrying some metal pipes, which instantly enraged Archer as he charged at the scout and whaled on him. "DID I PAY YOU TO START SITTING AROUND ON THE JOB?! DID I, DID I?!" Mason, head witch of the Construction coven, just shook his head as he watched the ill-tempered handyman torment the unlucky scout.
"BIG MAN" ARCHER EDIFICE
BOUNTY: 7,000,000,000 SNAILS
"Allegro everyone, allegro!" a tall, handsome witch dressed in red ordered an orchestra he was conducting. "The emperor wants this to be done in time for Coven Day!"
However, a member of the brass section started playing out of tune, much to the conductor's annoyance. "Stop, stop, stop!" he loudly commanded, forcing the music to halt. "Whoever is out of tune, please raise your hand or forever hold your peace."
"Uh, Piper, it's time." Raine announced as they stepped into Piper's quarters to deliver the news.
"Oh, almost forgot." Piper realized before putting down his baton. "Take five, gang! Got some work-related business to do." As Piper left his orchestra to go with Raine, he decided to try and strike up a conversation with the secret rebel. "So Raine, old buddy, old pal, it's been too long! First off, congratulations on stepping in for Scooter and becoming head witch, that old man's time was going to come sooner or later."
"Thank you Piper." Raine blushed at Piper's comment.
"And second, I was so worried sick when you were held hostage by that dastardly Owl Lady!" Piper continued. "I told you once when you left me at St. Epiderm for Hexside, and I'll say it again, I always knew that Edalyn would be a bad influence on you!"
"Y-yeah, she totally had me captured, all right." Raine nervously looked around, trying to hide their true motives from their old classmate. "So, how has the criminal life been for you, Piper?"
"MUSICIAN OF MISCHIEF" PIPER HAMLIN
BOUNTY: 6,000,000,000 SNAILS
Finally, a blue-skinned, genie-like witch meditated while surrounded by scented candles. A ghost covered in bandages hovered above him as the witch kept his three eyes shut, gazing through every possible future in store for the Syndicate, Belos, and the Isles in general. "Ommmmm." He muttered himself while deep in thought. "Ommmmm."
Just then, the head witch of the Oracle coven Osran entered the genie's residence and knocked on the door, snapping his sponsored wild witch from his concentration as he opened his eyes. "I suppose the time has come at last."
"FORTUNE TELLER" TIENHAN RASPUTIN
BOUNTY: 8,000,000,000 SNAILS
The members of the Wild Witch Syndicate soon gathered at Belos's throne room, where they kneeled before the ruler of the Boiling Isles before Kikimora made a speech. "Good day to you, Wild Witch Syndicate. As you may know, Emperor Belos has gathered you all today to assist in Project: Ticking Clock in exchange for amnesty from the Day of Unity." She stated. "However, a growing band of rebels seeks to challenge his rule, some of which come from worlds beyond the one we know." She began handing out stacks of wanted posters to each witch while listing off each member of Sly and Luz's gang.
"The Thievius Raccoonus, Sly Cooper. Wanted for a bounty of 1,500,000,000 snails."
"The Owl Lady's human, Luz Noceda. Wanted for a bounty of 2,000,000,000,000 snails."
"Eda herself. Wanted for her old bounty of 1,000,000,000,000 snails."
"That annoying little "Self-Proclaimed King of Demons", wanted for 50 snails."
"Bentley, epithet "Disabled Genius" with a bounty of 5,000,000,000 snails. Penelope insists that he only be brought alive."
"Murray, or "The Murray" as he insists he is called. His bounty is 2,500,000,000 snails."
"That "Insult to the Law" Carmelita Fox. Bounty: 10,000,000,000 snails."
"Greasy Sweet" Dimitri Lousteau. Wanted for 3,000,000,000 snails."
"And finally, the traitorous head witch Lilith Clawthorne, or "The Raven Maiden" as her poster refers to her. Her bounty shall be 1,500,000,000,000 snails for her alliance with Cooper and turning her back on the emperor."
"So Edalyn's back on his list again, eh?" Sludgios wondered while putting out his cigarette on Eda's poster. "Knew it was only a matter of time."
"Ooh, a human!" Mixzela cheered excitedly. "I wonder what my potions could possibly do to her?"
"Alas, poor Lilith, I knew her well." Mirector mourned the bounty on his classmate's head. "Going from leader of the Emperor's Coven to a common crook just like her sister."
"Ooh, the big pink one is making me a little peckish." Seru commented while licking the tip of his beak with his tongue at Murray's poster. "Someone that large has to have enough nutrients to last me a lifetime!"
"Mercy, I know it's wrong, but now that I've gotten a good look at this fox," Ognsta stated while ogling Carmelita on her poster. "my mouth is watering, and my hanks are hankering!"
"Oh darling, you are such a dog." Medico smirked while showing Ognsta the wanted poster for Dimitri. "Besides, this lizard is giving me ideas for my future experiments."
"Haha, look at this bub in his wheelchair!" Archer laughed at Bentley's poster. "Taking him out should be easy pickings! Just take away his chair, and he'll be screaming, "Someone help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!"
"This little demon would certainly make a good pet." Piper mused at King's poster. "Look at him. He's just an innocent little puppy!"
"This raccoon is sure to be trouble for us." Tienhan gravely informed his fellow witches. "But worry not, I've meditated on every possibility, and his bravado will not last long."
"Please be informed that there's a chance they could gather up more allies." Belos said to the Syndicate. "If any additional members are recruited, we shall give them bounties and send you out after them."
"Yes, sir." The witches obeyed the emperor's orders and began to depart, each with their own agendas but ultimately fulfilling his schemes in exchange for abstaining from the Day of Unity. Sly and Luz could perhaps be faced with some of their deadliest enemies yet.
Later that day, Belos, now sans his mask, stepped into the laboratory where a massive portal-like device with a strange door at the center lay nearly completed next to the metallic chassis of an owl-like creature. It was primarily silver in color, but it has hints of white and gold to indicate its current allegiance. Reaching into his robes, Belos pulled out a mysterious eye with a red lens and an eyebrow attached to the top that he affixed to the body. "There. I hope I haven't kept you waiting, my friend."
The owl didn't give an immediate answer, however. But after a few seconds of waiting, the machine slowly came to life and replied to Belos with a single word.
"Cooper."
CHARACTERS UNLOCKED!
Stealth: Sly, Luz, Eda, King
Smarts: Bentley, Lilith, ?, ?
Strength: Murray, Willow, ?
Style: Carmelita, Dimitri, Gus
That about wraps it up for this chapter, just in time for King's Tide! God, I'm so anxious. But enough about my feelings about what's to come, it seems things are about to heat up! Just as the Cooper Coven finally get the info they need on the first members of the Wild Witch Syndicate, the Syndicate receive their orders to take on our heroes. Next time, we face off against their leader Oozan Sludgios, and he happens to have a history with the family of our next playable character. Stay tuned!