Hey everyone,
Okay, I admit this is getting a little crazy. This seems to be the year of the rewrites and for some reason my love for Sly Cooper has gotten new wings. I really don't know why, but I am not going to complain or try to fight it. Otherwise, I might never get another word on paper again. And considering that I am hoping to start working on my own original story sometime next year, I'd rather just quell these urges now.
Let's do this,

Venquine1990

True Family
Chapter 01
One Last Search

26th of November 2013
Cooper Hide Out, Paris
Mariah Barkley's POV

I've been sneaky since I was just a teenager. My ability to sneak up on James Barkley and surprise him with romantic touches, gestures and gifts was what made the badger fall for me when we were only in our teens and started dating. I have spent the last 27 years happily married to James and helped him as he grew from a mere parking officer to the Chief of Police. And for the last seven and a half years I helped him on his biggest case.
Because of this case, I am now sneaking into the Cooper Hide Out. I know I don't really need to sneak in as Bentley added me to the security system a few years ago, but I am anyway. This is because I might have a lead on the case, but I am not sure and I really don't want to inform the others, only to disappoint them later. Luckily enough the door that leads into the garage opens without a sound and the door to the equipment cabinet is the same.

"Okay, earpiece communicator, Binocucom, smoke bombs and the Time Communicator. That should do it." I whisper to myself as I pack the four objects into my robe. I might be in France, but thanks to where and when I am headed, I made sure to change into the appropriate garments before I left. And the long brown and black cloak and robe that are wrapped around my form and head also helped me to conceal myself as I snuck over.
I take the keys to the van out of the small cabinet that is hung on the wall next to the door leading into the house and I take extra care not to make a sound as I climb on board. I put my duffel bag, which has several more inside it, on the passenger seat and put the scroll that I got from a new friend of mine in the time machine that is build into the back of the van. I take my seat behind the wheel and start the van – and the Time Machine with it.

I'm sure that the sound of the engine might have woken some of the Hide Out's residents, but I just focus on my task at hand. I press a few buttons on the panel that is build into the front of the van next to the steering wheel and with this connect the power of the Time Machine with the engine of the van and the origins of the scroll that is now floating inside the container. The connection is made and I hit the gas. Instantly I'm off.
And while the van was parked in the garage with the front of the van aimed for the back wall of the garage, the Time Machine connecting to the van's engine has me instantly enter a Time Tunnel instead of crashing into the building. I release a breath and think: "I can only hope that this will work." But then I shake my head and mutter: "It will work. Everything I found out about this matter points in his direction. I'm right this time, I know I am."

I stare out ahead of me as the van travels through the Time Tunnel and the scroll's heritage takes me further and further back in time. I know that I am making a Time Jump of 3000 years and that this means it will take a while before I reach my destination. But in order to keep myself strong, I keep my mind blank and focus only on the beautiful blue, white and black light that flash around me. The brightness of the colors helps me stay confident.
"Okay, so Bentley adapted the Time Machine to appear just a few miles away from the place of origin of the artefact within the Time Machine. But considering that the legends claim that the Constable lived outside of the encampment that should improve my chances of finding him. Which should improve my chances of finding out whether or not I'm right." I take and release another breath at these thoughts and then I spot it. A bright white light with a black outline that is steadily growing larger and larger, indicating the end of the tunnel.

"Almost there. Sly Cooper, you better be him, you secretive raccoon." I mutter, but as soon as I pass through the end of the tunnel, my eyes widen. I pull at the steering wheel and hit the brake with all my strength. And just in time too as a minute later, the van slides to a stop right in front of a run-down looking hut made of wooden sticks, mud and clumps of sand. I breathe in and out as my shock slowly fades away and I calm down.
Yet my calm is short-lived as I look up and spot someone looking out the window on the right of the building. And thanks to everything Bentley, Murray and the others in the Cooper Gang told me, I recognize Sly Cooper instantly. His fur might be a bit darker and he might be wearing a robe similar to my own, but his amber brown eyes are still the same and so are most of his facial features, which I recognize thanks to the many pictures I have seen over the years.

Both of us stare at each other in shock for several minutes and then Sly pulls his head back into the building. Instantly I pull the earpiece out of my robe and plug it into my ear. And it only takes a single press of the right tiny button on the device for me to be able to hear him mutter: "This is just another dream. I have to be dreaming again. Or is this another nightmare?" My heart goes out to the mumbling raccoon and I think:
"I can either reassure him with the song Bentley recommended or explain myself first. Best do the latter." I pull my purse from underneath my robe and press the button on my earpiece at the same time. "Mr. Cooper, my name is Mariah Barkley. I'm the wife of Chief of Police, James Barkley. My husband and I have been helping your friends in their attempts to find you for the past seven years." I hear Sly's breathe hitch, but then he sighs.

"Well, that's a new one." He mutters, more to himself. I smile at the raccoon that I can't see and pluck my cellphone from my purse. I quickly undo the lock mechanism and open the Spotify app. Thankfully I already prepared my playlist accordingly before I left, so I speak into the earpiece again. "Mr. Cooper, Bentley told me about a way that we can help you calm down if we were to find you. Please listen to this. It will prove that you're not dreaming."
I hear Sly let out a sound of curiosity and I press play on my app. Circle of Life starts playing and I hear Sly gasp as he hears this in the earpiece. Again he sticks his head out of the window and I smile at him as I hold up my phone. For about half a minute the two of us stare at each other and then an idea strikes me. I smirk at the raccoon and stop the song before I mutter: "Now wouldn't that be a great way to surprise your friends with your return?"

Sly stares at me a bit longer and then looks out into the dessert that surrounds us. He spots something or perhaps he realized something. He reaches out a hand of his own and I feel shocked when I see that he seems to have a sown a new glove onto the wristband of his old set. The glove itself is fingerless and is dark brown, but I also spot a hint of bright yellow that I know is part of his original outfit. And only then I notice the same yellow neckline hidden under his robe.
"I have two more structures that have valuables in them that I don't want to leave behind." Sly tells me over the earpiece. I nod at him and quickly climb over the passenger seat to open the window on that side. I grab the duffel bag and throw it at him. "There are at least four other duffel bags in there. Just pack whatever you want to take with you and then we're off." I happily tell the raccoon, who catches the bag and gives me a grateful nod.

A few minutes later he exits the building, two duffel bags on his back and his cane in hand. The golden tip at the top shines brilliantly in the light of the crescent moon that hangs in the air above us. Sly bends the cane tip down to the corner of his structure and a simple pull at something I can't see actually makes the whole structure collapse. My eyes widen and Sly gets into the van on the passenger side of the van.
"We need to hurry to the next structure. Clockwerk is going to do one of his routine flights across the dessert in about 20 minutes." I suppress my fear at the idea of encountering the horrible avian and ask him how to get to the structure. Sly motions for the North East and says: "Just follow the dunes that look like waves." I nod at him and turn the van into the indicated direction. For a few minutes we just drive in silence.

I notice that Sly is staring at me every few seconds before he turns his head away again. I smile as I am sure that the raccoon has a lot of questions, but because of the time restraint that we are on, I decide it's better to leave that for when we're back in the Time Tunnel. We reach the next structure, which looks just as rundown as the last one and Sly pulls another bag out of the duffel bag. "Keep the engine running."
I nod at him and a few minutes later he comes back out of the structure again. And just like with the last one he pulls at something in the corner of the structure and makes it collapse. "No need to leave behind any real evidence that I was here. Let's hurry, Clockwerk can be flying over any minute now. Head West and stay on the right of the oasis that you'll see in a minute. On the left of that there is a field where Fire Scorpions hide."

I cringe at this and think: "He's been living near a field full of Fire Scorpions this whole time?" My heart again goes out to the poor raccoon, who has obviously been suffering greatly the last few years. I don't know if it really has been just as long as we have been searching for him, yet I don't care either. Instead of that I just follow his instructions. Yet when we are nearing the oasis he mentioned, he suddenly shouts: "HIDE THE VAN!"
And out of pure instinct I turn the wheel to the left and drive the van into the lake. Sly gasps at this, but I stay calm and when I'm sure that we're entirely submerged, I hit the brake. "Don't worry, Mr. Cooper. Bentley and Murray made sure that the van can easily ride into the ocean in Holland and out in England without so much as a scratch. We should be safe here and once that fiend is gone, we'll head for your other structure."

Sly gives a bit of a shaky nod and I suddenly remember. "He can't swim. I forgot." I want to hit myself on the head, but then something else happens that shocks and scares me. On the other side of the lake, I notice a huge owl beak break the surface and a tongue that is already coated in metal slurps up several gulps of water. I grip the wheel in fright and Sly mutters: "He must have heard or felt the van appear.
It must have thrown him off his routine. Normally he doesn't go here to drink, at least not during the night." I gulp and think: "We're stuck here until he flies off. I might as well just spend the time we have here doing something productive." I gaze at the huge beak, which is almost as big as my own upper body, for another couple of minutes. Then I decide to satiate the raccoon's curiosity and hopefully satisfy my own as well.

"Mr. Cooper, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm here and not your friends. Like I said, my husband and I have been helping your team in their efforts to find you for the last seven and a half years. It's just that about two years into our search, Bentley realized that splitting the team into multiple teams could increase our chances. This would allow one team the chance to use the Time Machine and another to look into new hints.
It also helped in regards to keeping up our morale as the team that was left behind could help motivate the team that left if they came back without you. Now your friends don't know that I used the Time Machine, but that is because I have been keeping my own research a secret from them for the last three months. You see, the last time that I found something that I thought could lead them to you, it ended with your friends getting hurt.

I felt horrible about this and while your friends easily healed from their injuries, I swore I wouldn't risk them like that again. However, that's not the only thing that happened in the last few years. There are other things that you have a right to know before we get back." Sly looks at me as I talk, but then he looks up and says: "Clockwerk's gone. Let's get to my last structure. You can tell me the rest once we're on the road again."
I nod at him and yet I ignore the light hint of disbelief that is in his voice at the end. "He still doesn't believe. He doesn't think that any of this is real. He must still be in the belief that he is dreaming." I think as I drive the van out of the lake on the other side of where I entered and instantly I see the final structure. I try not to grimace as this one looks slightly worse than the last two and instead I just park the van at the front door.

Sly grabs another duffel bag and the same thing happens as the last two times. Sly enters the building and leaves it a few minutes later. He uses his cane to pull at something that is hidden in the sand in the corner of the building and the structure collapses. The raccoon gets back into the driver's seat and puts the bag on the floor behind his seat. He then stares at the container and says: "You might want to replace that scroll."
But I shake my head and say: "Bentley installed a Return Home application into the van right here. It's in constant contact with the most recent date that the clock registered before the Time Machine was activated and is connected to both the Time Machine and the van's engine." Sly stares at the small screen and keyboard that is set onto the dashboard next to the steering wheel and mutters: "He sure improved the Time machine a lot."

I nod at him, activate the device and rev up the engine. And with another burst of power from the van we enter the Time Tunnel. Sly's eyes widen and his mouth drops as he sees the bright white, blue and black and he mutters: "I – I'm going home." I give the startled creature another nod and he sighs before he says: "Forgive me. Your presence is the only reason I'm hesitant to believe that I am dreaming right now."
I smile at him and say: "I understand that. You must have dreamed of being saved countless times over the last few years." Sly nods back at me and just the haunted look in his eyes says it all. I feel like reaching out to him, yet because I know I am mostly a stranger to him and I can tell that he's still tense, I refrain. Instead, I say: "Like I said, there are things you need to know before we arrive back home, Mr. Cooper."

The raccoon looks at me and I ask: "Do you remember the party that Interpol threw a week before you and your friends performed that heist on Le Paradox's museum?" For a few minutes Sly looks at me confused and I feel glad that we need to travel 3000 years forward in time. Sly turns his head away and blinks a few times before he mutters: "I – I do remember the party, but – I don't remember the night itself. It's a blank to me, for some reason."
I nod and say: "That's because during the party Carmelita fed you drunk. She did it most subtly, but she did. And on the way back, she had an aphrodisiac in her hair that intoxicated you. She confessed to this herself, Mr. Cooper. She had seen you plan that heist of yours and she was desperate to keep you close, so she decided to seduce you. That's why you don't remember that night, but why you woke up in your own bed the next morning."

Sly stares at me with an open mouth for a minute or so and then he asks: "Why are you telling me this? To convince me that I'm not dreaming?" I smile at him and say: "That too, but also because that night had consequences. Though Carmelita herself didn't find out about these consequences until after you disappeared. Mr. Cooper, you're a father. There is a five years and eleven month old boy named Sylvester waiting for you back at home."
Sly slowly turns from looking at me to the other end of the tunnel and back. Then he sags down in his seat and mumbles: "I – I'm not dreaming. This – this is real." I snicker at the shocked raccoon and I can't help but ask: "Never dreamed of coming home to a family, Mr. Cooper?" And while Bentley and Murray often told me about how besotted Sly is with Carmelita, he shocks me as he shakes his head and mumbles: "Never."

I grimace and mutter: "Unfortunately, I also have some bad news to share." Instantly the raccoon is up in his seat and his whole body is tense. I try to smile at him reassuringly, but I know I suck at trying this when I am concerned myself. So I just focus on the tunnel and say: "Five months after Carmelita gave birth, she went to bed one night – and she didn't wake up. She's still sleeping. I'm sorry, Mr. Cooper, but she's in coma."
"For – for all these – all these years?" Sly stutters and I nod at him. Tears gather in the man's eyes and his lower lip starts to tremble. I really feel for him as I felt the same devastation he must be feeling several years ago. Yet I still smile and say: "However, whenever Sylvester is near her or if she hears a recording of your voice, she shows small signs of life. A moan in answer to a question, a smile, a tilt of her head. Though unfortunately, that's it."

Sly seems to take some comfort out of my words and I turn to look at him as I say: "Your friends are confident that you are the only one who can wake her, Mr. Cooper. Because of that, Carmelita and Sylvester have been their main motivators in their efforts to find you for the past seven years. Reuniting you with your family has been more important to them these past few years than just reuniting with you themselves."
Sly smiles and looks up into the distance of the Time Tunnel as he mutters: "That sure sounds like my friends. Heh, I can't believe it. After all these years. I – I – I –." But he seems unable to voice what he is thinking. I turn to look at him in concern, but he shakes his head. I nod at him, as I understand that he might not want to confide in a stranger like me just yet. But then I grin and ask: "Tell me, Mr. Cooper. How is that singing voice of yours?"
Sly looks at me with a raised eyebrow and I hold up and swing my cellphone from side to side again. I wink at him and ask: "Remember? My little plan to wake your friends and let them know that you've been found and returned back to them. Or would you rather wake Carmelita first?" But while Sly grinned as he saw me swing my phone, he shakes his head at the end of my question. And then we pass the end of the tunnel.

Welcome back, Sly.
Also, I just want to let you all know that I am skipping the whole Bellamora thing. It was definitely an interesting plot point in the original, but I've changed my mind since. Instead, I am going to create new OC parents for Carmelita, have James and Mariah play a big role in this story and bring Big Jim McSweeney into the fold. And of course Sly is going to put his full focus on his new family and getting reacquainted with his friends.
And his love,

Venquine1990