This is a Sly Cooper Fanfiction of how the fourth game SHOULD have gone; in my opinion at least.

Disclaimer: I do NOT own the rights to the Sly Cooper Franchise and do not claim to.

Sly Cooper is copyrighted to Suckerpunch Productions and Sanzaru Games.

Please enjoy!

Osaka, Japan, 1603…

The Cooper Truck suddenly blasted out of thin air and came to a stop on a plateau overlooking a small village. Once the Cooper gang had recovered from the warp of time travel, everyone looked at each other, nervously; they knew that someone hostile was on the roof.

"Psst…! Panda King…" whispered Bentley, "Operation: Bait and Switch…"

"Yes…" the Panda King whispered back. Sly knew what they were planning, and made his way to the truck's back door. Once there, he stood next to the Panda King as they opened the door together.

"Looks like the coast is clear…" said Sly, "I better take a look around." He placed his foot outside the door, and…

"HAAAA!" a voice yelled. In an instant, Sly pulled his foot back, and the Panda King reached out and grabbed the intruder as it tried to pounce on Sly. "Oi!" an annoyed female voice said, "Let me go, you oversized throw rug!" A collective gasp went up from the gang.

"NEYLA?" Sly, Bentley, Murray, and Dimitri asked in unison. Sure enough, the Panda King dragged a struggling purple tigress wearing a red hood into the truck.

"Huh…?" asked Penelope, clearly confused, "Who's this crazy tigress?"

"She… she was hounding us a few years ago on the Clockwerk case!" said Bentley.

"And she betrayed us in India;" added Sly, "Turning us in to Interpol so she could have the Clockwerk parts for herself!"

"That's right, Cooper!" Neyla snarled, "And I had you and your pathetic gang at my mercy! How you managed to beat me I'll never know!"

"But… How…?" asked Murray, "I thought you died when the Clockwerk frame exploded!"

"I thought so too!" said Neyla, "Turns out, the frame was enough to shield me from the blast, and when the parts all decayed away, I was released into the seine river. I woke up ten miles downstream, broken, but alive."

"Wow…" said Penelope, "Those Clockwerk parts must have been made of stern stuff."

"And I've been recovering for the past two years…" Neyla went on, "Plotting my revenge, and now… I'm going to take it!"

"Yeah…" said Sly, "There's just one problem with that…" Neyla looked up, and remembered that she was in the iron grip of the Panda King.

"I will not allow you to harm Sly Cooper;" said The Panda King, "I am bound by my commitment as a member of the Cooper Gang to protect all of my teammates."

"So," said Neyla, a bit more calmly than before, "I see you've made some new friends. Even old Dimitri."

"That's right, Baby!" said Dimitri, "Dimitri dances to a new tune now!"

"How nice…" said Neyla, scowling.

"Well…" said Bentley, "As unexpected as this is, we've arrived in Japan; the home of Rioichi Cooper. If we're going to find out what's been causing his section of the Thevius Racoonus to vanish, then our first order of business is to take some recon so we can figure out what's going on."

"Right…" said Sly, "I know the drill for that."

"I'm coming too;" said Penelope, "Just let me refuel my chopper, and I can do an aerial sweep of the surrounding area."

"You sure you wanna come?" asked Sly.

"Sure;" said Penelope, "Anything to get out of the truck for a while. Something tells me this isn't going to be a nice chat over coffee."

"I'll agree with that." said Sly. It didn't take too long for Penelope to gas up her chopper; after which, she and Sly set out on their recon mission.

"So, Bentley…" said Murray, "What are we gonna do with Neyla?"

"I'm right here!" said Neyla, "You could ask me!"

"True…" said Bentley, "Very true." He thought for a minute, then said, "Sit her down, Panda King."

"Yes, of course." said the Panda King. He sat Neyla down in one of the seats, but kept a firm hand on her shoulder, ready to spring if she tried anything rash.

"Now," said Bentley, "I think we need a professional to ask some questions." On cue, the Guru came out of hiding, and lifted his moonstone up to Neyla's head.

"Oi…" said Neyla, "What're you trying to do…?" The Guru didn't answer for a moment; he concentrated on something, very intently.

"Interesting…" he finally said, "I sense much anger in you, Neyla; brought on by feelings of sadness, abandonment, and betrayal."

"What…?" asked Neyla, "How do you know what fuels my anger?"

"He knows a lot;" said Murray, "My master, the Guru, can see the spark of anger and fear inside all of us."

"Oh joy…" grumbled Neyla, "I came here expecting a fight, and I get a counseling session."

"This… is definitely not right…" said Sly, as he and Penelope overlooked the small village from atop a cliff.

"That's for sure…" said Penelope, "Villages in Feudal Japan didn't have searchlights and gun turrets the last time I read the history books."

"We're obviously dealing with some very strong forces here;" said Sly, "You better maintain your position here; if those guards spot your RC chopper, it'll be a missile magnet."

"You're right, Sly;" said Penelope, "But I've seen you sneak, I think I can manage to keep it out of sight."

"Good luck, then;" said Sly, "I'm gonna go get a little more… up close and personal." With that, he dove off the cliff and deployed his paraglider. He gently glided in before releasing the glider and landing on a lantern on one side of the cobblestone street. "This is pretty disturbing…" said Sly, "I better get some shots of those samurai guards patrolling the streets, and Rioichi's sushi restaurant." He noticed that a large boar guard was coming down the street, holding a lantern in one hand and a crossbow in the other. Pulling out his binocucom, Sly focused the sights on the guard and snapped a picture of the armor. "Perfect;" said Sly, "Now for the restaurant."

Being sure to stay out of sight, Sly slipped through the shadows of the streets until he saw an elaborate pagoda-shaped building with a silly-looking fish above the door.

"Nice touch;" Sly thought to himself as he snapped the picture, "Pretty ingenious of Rioichi to use a sushi restaurant as a hideout. Of course… with sushi that good, I bet the people never thought much about it."

"Sly! Come in!" Penelope's voice came through Sly's earpiece. Knowing it could be something important, Sly answered immediately.

"What've you got, Penelope?" he asked.

"There's some kinda commotion going on by the local geisha house." said Penelope, "Maybe we should check it out."

"See you there!" said Sly. He climbed up a conveniently placed lantern post and started running along the rooftops. Along the way, he pickpocketed a few crane guards, scoring some decent loot that Bentley could sell on theifnet. In no time, he saw a building with a painting of a beautifully dressed rhino on the front. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was the geisha house. "Penelope…" said Sly, "I'm outside the geisha house, but I'm not seeing any kind of disturbance."

"The disturbance is inside, Sly;" said Penelope, over the radio, "I'm almost there. If anyone comes out, snap a picture of them."

"Ten-four…" said Sly. At that moment, the door opened, and a large tiger stepped out into the street. He was wearing traditional Japanese nobility clothes, but Sly could tell that something about him was out of place. "I'm pretty sure they didn't smoke Cuban cigars in Feudal Japan…" said Sly as he snapped a picture of the tiger. Just then, he heard the drone of a small gas engine, and Penelope's chopper hovered overhead. "Penelope…" said Sly, "Something's strange about that guy. He looks like he belongs in the nineteen seventies."

"Not to worry, Sly;" said Penelope, "Bentley equipped my chopper with a portable data cruncher. If I can scan this guy long enough, it'll tell us all we need to know about him."

"That Bentley;" said Sly, "Always thinking. Just be careful; if he notices your chopper up there, he'll blast it out of the sky."

"I'll take that into consideration;" said Penelope, "Thanks for the heads up. You better head back to meet with me; it won't take long to scan this guy." Sly watched as the chopper hovered above and slightly behind the tiger. But, he left things as they were and started making his way back to the cliff. Once there, he climbed the vines to the top, and met up with Penelope, who had already retrieved her chopper.

"You got the data?" he asked.

"Yep!" said Penelope, "Once we feed this into Bentley's computer, it'll tell us all we need to know about who we're dealing with here."

Soon, Sly and Penelope made it to the truck.

"How's everything going so far?" asked Sly.

"Decently;" said Bentley, "Neyla's been spending some time with the Guru, who's been talking to her about her anger issues."

"Nice to know he's making some progress;" said Sly, "In the meantime, Penelope has something for you."

"We've tracked someone in the village;" said Penelope, "And I've gathered all the data on him on my RC chopper."

"Excellent!" said Bentley, "Now maybe we'll have some idea of who we're up against." Penelope and Bentley got to work on Bentley's computer, while Sly decided he needed to check up on Neyla. He found her, the Guru, and Murray out by the front of the truck.

"Hey, Sly!" said Murray, "How'd the recon go?"

"Like a top, Murray;" said Sly, "Bentley's putting it all together now." He then turned his attention to Neyla and said, "So… how's it going…?"

"Alright, I suppose…" said Neyla, sourly, "This… koala has been talking to me about my betrayal issues."

"Betrayal issues…?" asked Sly, "Yeah… I can see that; you kinda have a habit of betraying people."

"That's because I was betrayed!" Neyla spat, "By your family!"

"What…?" asked Sly, clearly confused, "How did my family betray you…?"

"Sly!" Bentley's voice called from the truck, "You've got to see this!"

"We'll talk later." said Sly. Leaving Neyla, he entered the truck and found Bentley and Penelope staring at the screen. "What's this about?" he asked.

"We've positively identified the tiger you saw in the village;" said Bentley, "His name is El Jefe, and he's a notorious mercenary general, responsible for the hostile takeover of several small countries!"

"And that's not all;" said Penelope, "According to the data we've found, he mysteriously vanished just a week before we pulled off our heist. If I do the math… that's only six hours before I noticed the anomalies in the Thevius Racoonus!"

"Sounds like we're getting closer to solving the puzzle;" said Sly, "What's next, Bentley?"

"Well," said Bentley, "Our first order of business should be to break Rioichi out of that new high-security jail they've built near the waterfall cliffs. Unfortunately, the place is locked down tighter than… than…"

"Your security database… Murray's belt… Carmelita's underwear drawer…" Sly suggested.

"Very droll, Sly…" said Bentley, "Very droll."

"You naughty boy…" said Penelope.

"Anyway;" said Bentley, "Your only way inside is to trick one of the guards into thinking you're an officer. To do that, you'll need a set of samurai armor. The Guru can help you acquire one of those, and then you'll need Murray for a fast getaway."

"Sounds good to me;" said Sly, "Well… I better not waste any more time."

"Agreed;" said Bentley, "We'll keep an eye on Neyla while you three are gone. And in the meantime, we'll establish a proper hideout in one of the caves around here."

"Speaking of Neyla…" said Sly, "She said something about being betrayed by my family. I wonder… is there any truth behind that?"

"Probably not;" said Penelope, "She's probably just trying to get inside your head."

"Maybe…" said Sly, "But if she is… it's working…"

Some time later, Sly, Murray, and the Guru were approaching the prison.

"So what's the plan, Sly?" asked Murray.

"Bentley seems to think that the best way inside is to use a set of armor to disguise you as an officer;" said Sly, "But… those officers are bigger and tougher than the guards."

"Leave them to me;" said the Guru, "A strong body is nothing without a strong mind."

"You tell 'em, Master!" said Murray, "Show them the power of the dreamtime!" The Guru went on ahead, and started shadowing one of the officers. He was big; bigger than the boar guards who were guarding the prison. The Guru started waving his staff, and turned into a small bush. The officer turned the corner, but only saw the bush by the side of the road.

"I must remember to get that trimmed…" he muttered to himself. Once he had passed it, the bush turned back into the Guru, who leapt on the back of the officer, and placed his fingers to his head. The officer went into a trance, and began running at full speed. The Guru took a moment to enjoy the feeling before steering the guard in the direction of Sly and Murray. Once there, he leapt off the officer's back, and the officer smacked right into the wall. Murray dragged him into the alley, gave him a few quick punches, and the officer slumped over, out cold. Then, Murray emerged, wearing the armor.

"Gotta say, Murray," said Sly, "You make a pretty good officer."

"Thanks, Pal;" said Murray, "Now we just need to make the guards think that you're a prisoner."

"Allow me…" said the Guru. He waved his moonstone around Sly's face for a few seconds. There was a sparkly burst, and Sly's face looked like that of a red panda's. "This dreamtime spell will mask your true face for a short time;" said the Guru, "Just long enough for you to get inside the prison."

"Thanks, Guru;" said Sly, "You better get back to the hideout; Murray and I can take it from here."

"Of course;" said the Guru, "Good luck, my friends." And off he ran.

"Okay, Sly…" said Murray, "Just let me get these cuffs on you, and I'll get you inside that prison." Sly allowed Murray to place a pair of handcuffs onto his wrists, and lead him up to the prison gates. "Ten-HUT!" Murray barked. The boar guards snapped to attention.

"What's this, Sir?" one of the guards asked.

"I caught this lowlife sneaking around the geisha house;" said Murray, "Looked like he was planning a sneak attack on the general."

"Well then;" said the guard, "Looks like this one's going over the falls!"

"Yes…" said Murray, "Now, um… If you'll be so kind as to let me in, I'll throw this trash over the falls myself."

"Yes, Sir!" said the guards. With that, they opened the door and let Murray and Sly right in. Once the door was closed behind them, Murray led Sly to a sheltered corner of the room, and removed the cuffs. A second later, Sly's face returned to normal.

"That was some pretty convincing talk, Murray;" said Sly, "I have to admit, I wasn't sure you could pull it off."

"Yeah, well… I know what you mean…" said Murray, "I mean… I'm still not as good as you, but I'm learning."

"You were great, Pal." said Sly. The two of them left the corner, and made their way down the hallway leading to the maximum security cells. When they reached the end of the hall, they entered a large cavern with a river running through it.

"That river probably leads to the falls;" said Murray, "and the current is pretty strong. If we fall into that, we're goners."

"We've got other problems too;" said Sly, "I better get Bentley on the line." He pulled out his binocucom, and said, "Bentley, it's Sly. We've got a bit of a problem down here."

"What seems to be the trouble, Sly?" asked Bentley.

"Well…" said Sly, "Rioichi's cage has to be one of the cages that are suspended over the river. The only thing is, I can't see a way to get up there."

"Hmmm…" said Bentley, "Well… when brains can't solve a problem, perhaps brawn is called for."

"You're right!" said Sly, "Maybe Murray can heave me up to one of those stalactites, and I can cross to Rioichi's cage from there."

"That's one way of doing things;" said Bentley, "But once you're up there, there's no second try; the disturbance may alert the guards to your presence."

"No pressure, huh…?" said Sly. He then turned to Murray and said, "Okay, Pal, I need you to heave me up to one of those stalactites so I can get over to Rioichi's cage."

"No problem, Chum;" said Murray, "What can I do to help?"

"I saw a cart back there in the lobby;" said Sly, "You can stand by it for our getaway."

"Okay then;" said Murray. He knelt down and cupped his hands. "Ready, Sly?"

"Ready!" said Sly as he took a few steps back. After psyching himself up, he broke into a run towards Murray. "Alley…!"

"Oop!" said Murray as he launched Sly up to the stalactite.

"Thanks, Murray!" called Sly, "Now to get Rioichi out of there." Using his cane, Sly was able to jump and grab hold of the few stalactites before reaching one of the chains that supported the cages. After pulling himself up, he walked across the chain to one of the cages, where a raccoon was meditating. "Psst…!" he said, "Hey…! Over here…!" The raccoon opened his eyes and turned around.

"What…?" he asked, "Are you a fellow ninja?"

"Uh… yeah…" said Sly, "I'm here to bust you out of here."

"Tomoyo arigato;" said the raccoon, "Thank you, my friend. I am Rioichi Cooper of the Cooper clan."

"Nice to meet you, Rioichi;" said Sly, "Here… just let me…" He used his cane to break the lock, and open the door. "C'mon!" he said, "Let's go!"

"Where?" asked Rioichi, "To walk on a pathway so narrow is but impossible."

"Impossible…?" asked Sly, "What do you mea… Oh, right…" he berated himself, "The rail walk didn't come 'til two hundred years later."

"What is this… rail walk that you speak of?" asked Rioichi.

"You'll see;" said Sly, "Just hop on my back." Rioichi complied, and got on Sly's back. With a slight degree of difficulty, Sly walked back across the chain until he had a clear view of the exit. He then jumped off the chain and glided safely down with his paraglider.

"Incredible!" said Rioichi, "Your skills as a ninja are amazing!"

"Thanks;" said Sly, "We better get going; Murray's waiting for the getaway." With that, Sly and Rioichi ran to the lobby, where Murray was waiting with the cart.

"Hop in, Chums!" he said, "The Murray Express is leaving on track one!" Sly and Rioichi jumped into the cart, and Murray charged towards the door. SMASH! He broke right through, knocking the guards off their posts. "Choo-Choo!" Murray shouted as he charged through the village towards safety.

On the way back to the hideout, Sly explained the whole situation to Rioichi; who seemed to understand the whole thing.

"So… you're not alarmed or anything…?" asked Sly, "I mean… You're talking to your descendant from three hundred years in the future."

"Sly, my boy;" said Rioichi, "A ninja is never alarmed."

"That's… good for us then." said Sly. In no time, Murray brought them back to the new hideout in a cave near the edge of the village. "C'mon in;" said Sly, "Let's meet the team."

"Of course." said Rioichi. However, when Sly, Rioichi, and Murray entered the hideout, they were met by a collection of strange faces.

"Hi, gang!" said Sly.

"Oh, uh… hey, Sly…" said Bentley.

"What's the matter…?" asked Sly, "Is something wrong…?"

"Not wrong, really…" said Bentley, "Maybe just… awkward…"

"What's up?" asked Murray.

"That would be my place to answer…" said a voice. Sly looked over to see McSweeny's face on Bentley's communicator.

"McSweeny…?" asked Sly.

"Hello, Sly;" said McSweeny, "Fancy you running into little Neyla again." Sly took a moment to register Neyla staring at him from the other side of the room, with a look that he couldn't quite place.

"Wait a minute…" said Sly, "You know her…?"

"I certainly do;" said McSweeny, "After all, she is your half-sister." Sly's eyes went wide; he dropped his cane, and yelled,

"WHAT…?"

It was quite the revelation; Neyla and I were actually related. It turns out that Neyla's mother, Florinda, had been a part of my father's gang; and at some point shortly after I was born, my father had had an affair with her. In short, Neyla and I were half-siblings from the same father. My head hurt so much… I just wanted to lie down; but I needed to know the full truth. Neyla then started into her side of the story. During one of their elaborate heists, everything fell apart, and Florinda ended up losing her life. Neyla blamed my father for not saving her mother and had decided to take revenge on us by humiliating us, turning us in to Interpol, and finally joining with the body of my family's sworn enemy. Now, everything she had done to us made a lot more sense.

But then, McSweeny told us the truth. Turns out, Florinda willingly sacrificed herself so that the rest of the gang could get away. But before she died, my father promised her that he would ensure that Neyla would be taken care of. Since he was afraid that bringing her into the family would cause problems between him and my mother, he decided that Florinda's share of the haul would be subtracted and given to Neyla so she would have some money to her name. Then things hit the fan, Dr. M had wanted to split Florinda's share amongst themselves; but when my father refused that idea, he left the gang, swearing revenge. And then, I saw the whole picture… It was Dr. M who had sold my family out to Clockwerk, and doomed my mother and father. The Panda King felt particularly remorseful, since he had had a part in taking out my dad.

So now the truth was out, and it was a bitter pill to swallow. I felt so terrible; I wanted to do something; anything to make things right. Murray suggested using the time machine to try and save Florinda, but Bentley said that if we did, it could cause catastrophic damage to the timeline. I looked over at Neyla, and I could tell that she was hurting. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for a pity party. We still needed to stop El Jefe and put things right with the Thevius Racoonus; and what better place to start than Rioichi's sushi shop?

Sly and Neyla are closer to each other than either of them realized…!

Can Sly and the gang all work together to stop El Jefe and restore Rioichi's Cooper honor…?

Answers incoming… in Chapter 3!