~~~Where God Went to Die~~~

Bentley wiped the sweat off his brow, adjusting his glasses and biting his lower lip with reluctance in his sighs. He had modified the time machine to function outside of the van, now condensed in a tiny metallic disc. The device had a number pad to input dates, a stiff center button to confirm the travel, and sported indented green-lit lines around the rim. He had strapped the device to Sly's cane, its bizarre shape against the hilt of the carefully crafted staff made for an awkward balance, as it was also heavily weighted.

"So, no more artifacts from the time period?" Sly asked, toying with his now improperly balanced cane, trying to readjust to the form.

Bentley scoffed. "That was… just a phase… lets not talk about it." Sly shrugged; as long as it worked, he couldn't care how. The news of Carmelita's pregnancy was the only thing on his mind. There was even a small part of him that didn't want to bother with Penelope until she showed face as a major threat. However, the problem with that level of procrastination, was once she reemerged with Clockwerk, shed be a bigger evil then the gang had ever faced before. When Neyla stole the Clockwerk body (and almost killed Bentley), it was easy enough to shut her down. Her vengeful mind, in an ironic twist, couldn't handle all the power and hate she had stolen. She could barley fight, drunk with fury and high with malicious aspirations. Penelope, however, knew what she was doing. She had the capacity for hate, the drive for power, and the smarts to take over the world. On top of the fact she could move anywhere in time, redo any mistakes and reattempt any failures with the simple push of a button, her current position practically made her a god. Maybe, like Neyla, she would want to become Clockwerk. Maybe she wanted to make an army of them. Maybe she's given up. Sly joking hoped. He knew she wouldn't do that. Evil people never gave up when all the odds were in their favor. When offered a ride up the proverbial mountain, smart people don't chose to climb. Especially not when hate is their only motivation. Clockwerk didn't hate, Clockwerk was hate. A furious fire, hell-bent on destroying the Coopers. And Penelope was a genius child with a can of gas and a camera.

Bentley wheeled over to his friend. "Just… don't hurt her. Don't even engage her, just get a look at what she has going on." he spoke, attempting to hide the quiver in his voice. It was clear he still loved her, even if he hid it behind his urge to keep the future in tact.

"Classic reconnaissance mission, eh?" Sly smirked, trying to cheer his friend up. It seemed to work. "What year exactly? I was in thirteen hundred, right?"

"No Sly, that's the fourteenth century. You were in 1320 BCE. Around June, exactly." The turtle responded, adjusting the date on the disc after Sly lowered it down to him. "Try 1315 BCE first. Five years after she arrived."

Sly looked at the date on the device and nodded. "I'll stop by the gift shop, send you a postcard."

Bentley hesitated on a retort, awkwardly smiling. "…I… I think you've used that one before." he spoke past a raised eyebrow.

Sly rolled his eyes, mostly in annoyance with himself. "I cant keep track anymore. Maybe I'm getting old?"

"You're in your thirties."

"...Oh. Right." Sly didn't attempt to hold back on lightly laughing. The mission ahead could be deadly, and no doubt horrific. It was good to smile before jumping into the abyss, he thought. "Okay," he sighed, fixing his hair. His hat was probably still buried under some sand back in Egypt, and Sly was actually a little unconfident without the thing. Nevertheless, he nodded. "I'm ready."

Bentley smiled "Be safe, Sly. Your kid needs a dad."

Sly stopped, almost forgetting to breathe. "You… you know?"

Bentley nodded. "I'm a genius, Sly. Hard for me not to know, honestly." he grabbed his friend's arm reassuringly. "Sorry you couldn't surprise me." Sly nodded and put his hand over his friend's.

"Just keep Carmelita from following me?"

"Of course." The turtle smiled honestly.

Sly nodded and sucked in a breath. "Alright. See you… well, in a few seconds, I guess."

"Be safe, 'Duck'."

"No problem, 'Wizard'." Sly smiled as he pressed the button, keeping his eyes open. Bentley was quick to let go, careful not to be swept up in the bright misty green light that circled the raccoon. Sly felt the air grow hot, and the soft smell of a well kept house faded away, replaced with the sting of fire and mud. Light started to shine through the green haze, and Sly felt his feet slightly sink into the sand materializing below him. When the fog finally dissipated, Sly was standing in the shade of a few trees circling a small, dusty pond of water. About a hundred feet in front of him was a tall metal wall beefed up with barbed wire and several spotlights, all scanning the ground for activity like vultures waiting for a corpse. "…Another day, another fortress." the raccoon sighed.

Chapter Five

Ancient Egypt- 1315 BCE

Sly perched cross-legged atop a tall watchtower, the flat roofing giving him enough space to sit, unnoticed and somewhat comfortable. The defenses along the wall served a perfect warning for what defence lay inside, but ultimately proved no threat. Nothing could top what Dr. M had set up around the Cooper Vault. Sly was almost ashamed for Penelope for not taking notes while she was there.

From his position, Sly could observe several armed guards prowling the area, keeping the entire stronghold secure. They toted large twenty-first century firearms, strange helmets with green visors, and always traveled in pairs, watching each others back with careful (or paranoid) diligence. The once white buildings chiseled out of soapy marble had all been completely remodeled with dusty metal into a military boot-camp. A huge sectioned area of the hold housed various machines, and featured a dozen engineers welding pieces scrap metal to more scrap metal. An occasional voice via a loudspeaker would inform of reports of the area, and even reminded the guards to be on the lookout for a raccoon. She knew he was coming.

It felt bizarre to Sly, who had only been away for not twenty four hours, to see the entire village rebuilt into what would take decades to construct. He had to remind himself that it actually HAD been a few years since he and the gang tore their way home. Even with the flow of time under her thumb, Penelope must have called in a few favors from her time. Several non-Egyptian animals, like bears and tigers, littered the scene, all barking orders in English and sporting current day quasi-official uniforms. The wall of the fortress seemed to have ran for a few miles, as the more Sly looked around, the more there was than the last time he looked, as if the hold was materializing right in front of him.

Sly made sure to snap a few photos of points of interest; the scrap yard where workers would assemble turrets and spotlights, ammunition stockpiles, stairs and ladders along the wall, and the undoubtedly finest tourist attraction; A giant staircase leading up to Clockwerk's domicile. The only structure seemingly untouched by Penelope and her mechanical gentrification, if one was to ignore the forty some-odd guards standing on every step of the path. Huge rifles hung from their arms, ready to fire on the drop of a pin. Sly knew Penelope would be inside, ergo, the horrifying assent into Clockwerk's lab, as well as the threat of staring into the bird's hateful eyes was inevitable. Sly got one final photo of the guards.

Setting his camera down, the raccoon sighed and laid himself down in his back. He knew security would only thicken come nightfall, but the blanket of dark comforted Sly more than the piercing rays of the sun ever could. All of his other heists were done at night, why should this one be any different just because the stakes were higher? As the tiny clouds rolled over the pink Egyptian sky, all Sly could find himself thinking about, was Carmelita, and what it would be like to raise a child with her. "Step one, I need to marry her." he smiled to himself. Secretly, he hoped for a daughter. Something he had always wanted to do was call himself the father of a badass Amazonian warrior. To see the girl he held on his shoulders stand up for whats right and take down the evils of the world, just as he did, would be euphoric. "Ayleen…" he repeated back to himself. What a perfect name.

A loud beeping sound broke through Sly's mind into his day dream. Shortly after the intrusion, a metallic voice, soaked in a deep German accent, blared through the intercom. "Doctor Vikkoran, your assistance is requested in the operating room. Repeat; Doctor Vikkoran to the operating room." Sly sat up and looked around for something resembling a hospital, eventually grunting when none were seen. However, he did spot the pillar of guards along Clockwerk's steps part one by one, letting a cheetah adorned in all white clothing pass through. When the cheetah reached the top, he held his hands behind his head, while a final guard inspected him, concluding with a firm tug on the cats tail. When he was done, they let the doctor through.

"Operating room, huh?" Sly asked aloud, letting his mind race like stallions with wild images of Clockwerk's mortal flesh being cut from his bones, replaced by cold heartless machinery. "I guess you really are in there, Penelope." he sighed, scratching his neck nervously. "And you're building yourself a friend…"

The intercom screeched to life again. Yeesh… Sly thought grumpily. She invented time travel, can she not invest in better speakers?

"And a reminder for the rest of you," The German voice continued, with or without the thief's approval. "the raccoon we spotted is still threat, and priority number one. Stay alert, and shot to kill. Carry on."

It shouldn't have, but that scared Sly down to his bones. He just got there, have they already spotted him? And if they did, how come they didn't sound any alarms? They weren't referring to the first time Sly was there, five years ago, were they?

The raccoon tried his best to shake the thought out of his head, re-railing his train of thought with plans of how to break into the operating room and get Penelope in his sight. C'mon ring-tail… think like Bentley. Distraction… no, they'll know its me. Sly stressed his brain to find any kind of sliver of strategic thought that would help him. He had gotten too used to this being Bentley's job, he was drawing nothing but blanks. Disguise? Too risky. Maybe I can make them paranoid I'm disguised… make them fight. But how? I don't need to even go out there, just find an air-vent or something… Finally, an 'Or-something' walked right into the open.

Three guards, tall and muscular, helped carry a huge box of cogs and bolts. Scrap metal bins lay about the entire stronghold, either being dug into by workers reinforcing the areas defenses, or lying dormant, waiting for use. They were plentiful and fit with the scenery so well they might as well have been the decoration. The box lucky enough to be manhandled by the three brutes was placed on a kind of lift system. A fourth guard wrote something down on a clipboard and hit a key or two on a computer next to him. The lift descended and he spoke with the deliverers. From the position of the lift, and how the guards waited for the empty box to come back up the shaft left Sly to believe the scrap had descended to the operating room. Or something close nearby, at least. The guards took the box and walked into a building halfway across camp.

Now thoroughly hidden in the cold draw of night, Sly prepared to leap onto an electrical wire running to the guarded building, when a metallic voice, infinitely more intimidating than the loudspeaker, spoke from behind him.

"Paradox, was it?"

Sly spun around and in a blind panic brought the force of his cane with him. His body stumbled when the cane was brought to an immediate halt. The raccoon was used to building off the momentum carried when the cane struck and passed by something, but when the large robotic mouth completely stopped the cane, all Sly could do to keep himself from falling off the roof was grip his cane with both his hands desperately. Staring down at the clumsy mess with an almost amused smile, was Clockwerk. Not the one Sly had just met, but the horrifying metal monster he killed all those years ago. Fully robotic, piercing yellow eyes and horrible digitized voice brought Sly back on the worst nostalgia trip he could ever imagine. The hateful stare, the menacing reach of his wings, the criminally quiet squeak and groan of his shifting gears, there was no mistaking it. Whatever the bird had been before now, was dead. An evil destined to be born, finally, and somehow firstly, face to face with his eventual murderer. It was all set from there, all that had happened and all that was yet to, like clockwork.

Sly yanked his cane from the beak of the menace and took a pose, ready to strike. His cane was strong enough to crush the metal before, this time should be no different. Sly's gut was a horrible cocktail of fear, anxiety, and determination. He needed to stop Penelope, and this was just his first roadblock.

Strangely, the bird didn't strike first, or take to the air, or show any sign of impending struggle. He simple perched himself, adjusting his wings by pulling them closer to him. His eyes, for the first time Sly had ever seen, rested at a cold green color. The bird seemed to laugh. "Relax yourself, Paradox."

Sly only gripped his cane tighter. "Where is Penelope?" he asked flatly.

Clockwerk pointed a wing towards the tall staircase. "You're sneaky enough to work out a way inside. You're a skilled enough fighter to kill her. But are you strong enough to fight her body-guards?" his eyes darkened. "are you foolish enough to fight me?"

Sly shook his head, still ready to fight. "I'm not here to kill her. I just need to stop her."

The bird didn't move when he spoke, keeping his head low as to keep the motion of his jaw shadowed. "Why would you want to stop her? What rivalry do you have with her?"

Sly felt his heart skip a beat. She must have told the bird all about the Coopers, all about Sly and his friends. Who and where they were, how to kill them. Sly shook the thoughts to clear his mind and stared the bird in his soulless eyes. "Shes evil. In my time…" Sly took a deep breath, spinning a story close enough to the truth to win over the bird, blindly hoping his mind was still malleable enough to listen to reason. "…she hurts people. She betrayed me and my family. She helped someone horrible, she-"

"the Coopers."

Sly paused, feeling his fears come true. "What all did she tell you?" Sly always considered a tense conversation to be like a chess game. Both sides are planning out strategies, carefully working and plotting different scenarios, scheming how to stay on top, how to win. Even the smallest word could lose Sly the game. Understanding how much the monster knew about him seemed like the safest play to make.

"She told me everything," the bird spoke

Shit.

"Everything about the Coopers."

Its all over.

"Everything about you…"

Sly felt his breathing uneven, like one lung was working harder than the other.

"...Cyrille La Paradox,"

Huh?

"Master thief and arch-nemesis of the Cooper clan." the bird spoke. The way his words were spoke carried little diction, but Sly could sense the lack of sarcasm. "she told me how they held her captive, made her make them a time machine." the birds eyes were green. Sly felt more worried than ever. "how you stole it. Tried to kill her."

Sly let slip a nod. Play his game, ring-tail, if hes lying, nothings changed… if hes serious… "Okay…"

The bird raised his head, finally allowing Sly to see the movement of his beak with each metal word he spoke. "She didn't want to hurt you. She knows you do her, though. That's why I cant let you in."

Play his game. "…In my time…" Sly sighed. "she hurt people, no cooper told her to do that." its a bluff, why would Penelope lie to hum?"

The bird chuckled. "From her stories, it seems that's all the Coopers do. Even the thief in my time, Slytukhamen. Hes a thief, a rapist, a murderer."

Sly couldn't imagine any of his ancestors doing that. Especially Slytukhamen, the creator of the Thevious Racconus. He held an iron-willed belief system. He only stole from master thieves, he chose to hurt no one, he was noble… Wasn't he? "That cant be true… They're thieves… but… the Coopers aren't bad people."

The bird stayed motionless. "You are a thief, much like a cooper. You wish to kill, much like a cooper. Do you also wish to live like one?"

Sly, keeping to his chess game strategy, chose to play it safe. "what do you mean?" he cant think this. Hes a thief too, he said so back in Russia…

"Penelope has gifted me with immortality, only asking for one favor in return. I stop the cooper line from ever reaching its climax of tyranny." he spoke slowly, seeming to test the waters. "And if you attempt to stop me…" the eyes shone yellow, almost like spotlights running right into Sly's eyes, he had to squint to still make out the birds outline against the black sky. His wings were expanding, Sly knew he had to act quick to avoid a fight.

"I'm not trying to stop you, just…" the raccoon let his stature take on a less hostile stance. His cane even lowered to his hip. "just hear me out, okay?"

The bird seemed to think. His eyes weren't as bright as they had been, but they remained their heinous yellow. "Do you wish to convince me?"

Sly gave a fake laugh, trying to keep on the owls good side. "All I'm trying to say is maybe don't take it all on the faith of one angry mechanic?" The bird didn't move. "I'm not a Cooper, Penelope would have told you, right?" still no movement. "if she hates the Coopers so adamantly, why wouldn't she tell you?" yeah Sly, why WOULDNT she tell him? "All I'm saying is, maybe she just got a few bad apples of the Cooper bunch?" the bird seemed to pull his head back and looked at the horizon. "They're thrives, yeah… but not bad people."

The bird seemed to realize the Raccoon was right. Or at least believe his lies."Is there a difference?" he asked, almost solemnly.

Sly would be lying is he said he didn't think about that one. His entire life, he was brought up on the moral that stealing was warranted only to those who earned their riches dishonestly. There was nothing wrong with hurting those who hurt others, the raccoon thought. "Yes. There is." Sly took a deep breath, knowing that it would be a lot to convince the bird, but there was still a possibility he could listen to reason. He may have already become the full mechanical terror that plagues the cooper line, but if Sly played his cards right… he could change all that… he knew that would only cause a paradox, but if there was a chance to set the future right… give him back his father, then Sly would take it. "Common thieves, they steal to live… but some thieves, they steal to keep balance. If every bad person always got away with their crimes… well, trust me, you don't want to see that future."

The bird almost shrugged, trying to find his words. Its working, my god. "Why do you defend them so much? Penelope led me to believe your family hated the Coopers,"

Sly smiled, the bird was still staring at the skyline, so Sly knew he was safe. "Well, like I said; don't put all of your trust in some angry mechanic."

The bird growled. "Are you saying she lied to me?"

"I'm saying there's a lot she excluded from her stories. Lots she didn't tell you… for example, betcha she didn't tell you this one," Sly was actually entirely unsure if she did or not, but he needed to win this chess game. If Clockwerk was bluffing, then the raccoon was about to fight fire with fire. "In my time… there is one called Clockwerk. Hes a thief." the bird shot him a horrified glare. The shock seeming to settle in his movements, jerky and unpredicted.

"Impossible!" he knew the raccoon was referring to him.

Sly nodded and leaned on his cane. "You tried in vein to destroy all the Coopers, something about wanting to be the only master thief. You almost succeeded, too." Sly might have felt he was giving away too much, but watching the owls body language, Sly felt powerful. "You died at the hands of the only one you were unable to kill, reeling in the horror that you wasted your immortality trying to prove yourself." he lied.

The bird shook his head and mumbled to himself. "Impossible! Penelope made me indestructible! You… you lie to me, paradox!"

"Your body is then sold, to be used in criminal spice production!" Sly yelled back.

"You are working with them! Sent back to stop me!"

"GODDAMMIT I'M HERE TO HELP YOU!" Sly lied, and grabbed his cane again, feeling his arms and legs move through the cold air with a primal lack of control. The bird flinched, an his eyes dimmed to the luminosity of a lightning bug. "You could have been something better! You could have helped so many! Do you know how long it takes us to reach the technological level you're on right now? You could have pushed innovation thousands of years into the future, but you spent your time hiding in the shadows, wasting your finite eternity on trying to kill a few thieves. If you don't want my help, fine, but know I wont let you kill innocent people!" the words dropped out of Sly's mouth like saliva, all thought and logic let go from his head. He was speaking from his heart, digging up old shower thoughts and retrospective hopes he had never given serious concern to before. It came naturally, like he had done it a million times before. "If I have to go through your entire militia and take Penelope out myself I… I will…" he finally slowed down, noticing how fast he had been breathing and how hard he had been grabbing his cane, enough that he could feel his joints lock and crack with a flex of his fingers. "I wont let you…" he said, confidence finally absconding his brain back into his gut, replaced by cold doubt. He knew he couldn't win a fight against the hold, much less a young Clockwerk, but he had to bluff.

The bird seemed to think for a few moments. Finally, he spoke. "Show me."

"...W-what?"

Clockwerk flapped his wings, like he was stretching tired muscles, clearly an impossibility. "If they aren't bad people… just… just thieves… then show me how good they are."

It was Sly's turn to be shocked. "Like… time travel with you? To see them?"

The bird nodded. "I don't wish to talk with them. If its true as you say, they should recognize me and attack." the bird's face was as motionless as stone. "We can observe from a distance. How dd you put it? 'Hide in the shadows'?" he flapped his wings again, this time, no doubt, to intimidate.

Sly took another deep breath. If he actually went along with it… no, he couldn't. he needed to tell Bentley about what Penelope was doing. Then they could attack, the the mess would be over with. But… they would have attacked by now… unless they're about to… or… if we got rid of him, would we even need to time travel back to here? If he never existed, then… It hurt Sly to think about how easily he could mess up the entire future at that moment. A cold creeping feeling hit Sly's spine. He is supposed to hate the coopers. He is supposed to kill my father, he is supposed to terrorize me every night… I'm… supposed to kill him in Russia. Could I really let him reign all his terror, just to save the "correct" Time flow? If I do…

Sly nodded. He came this far, and the bird did seem intrigued in Sly's point. Perhaps that was just a farce, a means to some sinister end. Sly was confidant he wouldn't fully change the bird, but if any good could come of the horrible situation he was in, then Sly needed to go for it. If for no one else, he knew he had to endure this pain for his Child. Ayleen. "Okay…" he said a bit nervously at first, but then confident the second time. "Okay. When?"

Medieval Europe- 1300

Dark were the skies over the gray castle walls, the Raccoon and the Owl occupying a cracked and decaying perch along the south of the hold.

"...Thirteen hundred." Sly answered.

"Fifteen years? Only?" the bird asked, scanning the environment, its grassy Fields and lush stretches of forest a brand new world to him.

"No, thirteen hundred AD."

Clockwerk scoffed. "AD?"

Sly smirked. "There's this guy coming up in just a bit in your time, hes gonna do a whole lot about the future."

"...Jesus Christ?"

"H-how did… you- oh right. Penelope."

"She has informed me quite a bit of the future."

Sly sat down and leaned his back against part of the wall. "Then how did you know about Allah? That was before she got there that you told me…"

The bird chuckled. "Do your future scholars," he said with sarcastic scorn. "time travel to lean more of the history they record?"

"I doubt it. I think only Penelope and I have one."

"Then there is no sure way to know when an idea is born, or a figure is worshiped, true?"

Sly thought for a minute. He hated to admit it, but the bird was right. "Theoretically."

The bird nodded, still searching the environment. "On the subject, do you consider yourself a scholar?"

Sly shook his head. "Writing gives my hand cramps. I'm more of an on-foot kind of guy."

"A traveler." The bird said affirmatively.

"Its why I'm here, actually. A scholar wouldn't have the guts to do all this."

The bird laughed. "Perhaps not. A scholar would try to disprove a skeptic's word of what happened in the past. You don't do that." he laughed even louder, stirring a twist in Sly's gut. "You try to disprove a skeptic's word of what is to happen! In the future!" The owl really seemed to be getting a kick out of the irony.

Sly gave a courtesy laugh, and shrugged, out of sight of the bird.

Clockwerk, apparently bored of the grass, studied the sky. "You know, I thought you were lying to me, the first time we met."

"About the time travel?" or about the Le Paradox thing?

"I thought it was impossible. But these past three times I've seen you, you've never seemed to age. And here we are, eons in my future… eons in your past. It all still feels… unearthly, one might say."

"Uh, three times?"

The bird laughed. "Ah, how confusing it must be to live simultaneously with history. Yes, you were present for one of my… operations."

Sly nervously stared at the monster to his left, just within striking distance, if the raccoon developed a sudden death wish. "I… was there?"

"well, you were no guest. Stowed away in the rafters of the operating room like a feral rodent."

"Ah." Mental note… looks like I have to sneak in there anyways. Guess that explains why the fort was on red alert.

Clockwerk seemed anxious, maybe he hadn't triumphed over Sly in conversation for a while, and grew frustrated. "Where is this knight you spoke of? I see no raccoon."

Sly sat forward and watched the ground, sitting almost comfortably with the man, nay, the machine that nearly destroyed his family. Almost comfortably. "He'll show up sooner or later."

The bird growled. "Thieves prefer the dark to blanket their lifestyles. Why would a knight stoop to such dishonorable levels?"

Sly thought about that one. "Sometimes the best way to make a corrupt system right is to infiltrate it, I guess…"

"You guess?" Asked Sly's family's murder, with mirth in his slow growl.

Son of a bitch.

The machine growled again, louder this time. "You still believe they're doing the right thing. How much do you know of them, if you truly aren't their kin?"

"...You asked if I'm a scholar," Sly took in a deep breath, knowing full well he just put himself at a disadvantage. "The only stories of historical figures I've ever really taken interest in were the Coopers… they're like…"

"Heroes to you?" the bird asked, growling a third time.

"They did the right thing. So yes. Heroes."

"Every battle has two sides. No one does what they do because they think they are wrong or evil. One man's hero is another man's tyrant." the birds eyes flashed red, and his vision locked onto a shadow moving across the Fields. The bird had found it's prey. "And tyrants are all the same. Murders, liars…" Sly saw the shadow too, and noticed the fur patters nearly lost to the distance. "…Thieves." the last word struck Sly through such cold malice that the raccoon thought it actually carried some wicked chill. The slow, agonizing movements of the bird brought back all feelings of doom and fear the time traveler thought he had abandoned. Sly refused take his gaze off his ancestor, out of primordial fear that Clockwerk wasn't looking at the shadow in the Fields, but at him.

Sly's voice may have quivered, but his words stuck to their guns. "All tyrants are thieves… okay. But not all thieves-"

Sly was cut off in shock, as the shadow the two had been watching approached another one. Sly was sure Galleth was just going to lift a few coins from what looked like a farmer, but something inside his heart said otherwise. A cold realization that Galleth had just struck the farmer in the back of the head was all Sly needed to see to feel that ever present wash of fear. It was becoming almost familiar.

Almost.

Galleth looked to be looting the body, before running back off into the trees. Clockwerk laughed. "Are tyrants." he grimly finished Sly sentence, just to twist the knife the raccoon had accidentally stabbed himself with.

Sly said nothing. A conflicting rise of emotions, a civil war in his mind was brewing. He felt scared that Clockwerk had just made his point. He felt ashamed that Galleth would kill someone like that… he felt remorse, as suddenly, for the first time in his life, he thought about all the lives HE must have taken, ever since he was a teenager…"No, he just knocked him out…" He said absently, if only to mindlessly convince the bird he was still present. He thought of his own brawls throughout the years, and remembered that many times, a pre-emptive strike, rendering some poor unsuspecting guard unconscious, was just another part of his day to day life. Some of those times, if he thought about them statistically, he had to have hurt someone just enough to pull them under. Statistically, he's had to have killed somebody. No… I've just knocked them… out… He told himself slowly.

The bird hunched over, the same way he did when he told Sly to climb on top of him so they could see the future. Sly recognized immediately, but was a second slow to mount the machine. Be it fear he was wrong, or the stomach churning sensation of clutching to the bird's back as it tore through the sky, he hesitated. "Come now, Paradox." Clockwerk's voice carried a victorious hiss. "the body is getting cold."

Sly hated climbing the bird, and there in Europe, seconds after watching his great grandfather murder a farmer, marked the fourth time he had to. The raccoon found it a bit odd that the first two times, he had killed the monster only moments later, and now, they were on a road trip. This time travel stuff is ridiculous… he thought as he hoisted himself between the enormous wings of the monster. In truth, Sly was surprised the time travel radius was enough to swallow Clockwerk, with his huge frame. Sly didn't understand how the tiny green disc knew to expand to account for the sudden increase in size, nor was he entirely grateful for it. What am I doing… I need to get back to Bentley. He thought as the bird lifted himself off the wall.

In a short, but windy minute, they landed themselves in the fields, eyeing the twitching body just at the bottom of the hill. Sly threw himself off the bird and started to run to the farmers aid when the machine stopped him, throwing out a huge wing in the raccoon's path.

"Hes still alive, I don't think hes gonna-" Sly started looking up at the bird, then back to the farmer.

The body of the rat was soaked in his own blood, clearly convulsing and fighting for breath with what few slivers of life he still had in his lungs, illuminated by the cold blue moonlight. Visible through the stalks of grass, was the huge gash wound left by Sir Galleth Sly wouldn't have believed it, he he not witnessed it. The rat didn't make a sound, no doubt conserving his energy for his arms, twitching as he tried to pick himself up. Sly was about to scream at Clockwerk for not intervening when the bird laughed. "What is it you said seconds before we left?"

Sly knew what he was referencing. He also knew Clockwerk was going to say it, slowly and with malicious intent. The rat had finally moved his torso just enough to prop a leg under him, but after a few seconds of shaking and quivering in the cold, let out a barely audible squeak and rolled over on his side, the gash wound painting the green grass red.

"Don't interfere. It could cause a paradox." the metal monster finally finished, with a high pit h in his voice to mock his companion. He eventually lowered his wing.

Sly remained motionless, knowing it was too late. The rat was murdered right in front of Sly, by his own "noble" ancestor. He wanted to justify it somehow. Maybe by lying and saying this farmer was actually an assassin in hiding… but any reason he could think up, any heinous person he could assign to the dead rat, Sir Galleth already was, at least in the yellow eyes of Clockwerk. The blood that murdered that poor farmer, just for the gold in his pocket, was the blood that ran in Sly's veins. The very same blood that felt icy in that moment.

The bird must have had all the fun he had wanted to have that night. He scoffed and adjusted his feet restlessly. "So, Le Paradox… any other Coopers you look up to?"

Sly knew that he couldn't kill Clockwerk. It would mess up the timeline, throw all of Sly's hard work in the trash. Decades of keeping the coopers respected and remembered would all burn away with the rest of history, like a farmer, murdered in his fields, if Sly were to get rid of the bird now. Be the hero Sly, killing him might save the coopers, but who knows what would happen to… Ayleen…

Sly hung his head high. Determined to prove the bird wrong. Maybe Galleth was just the worse example. There were hundreds of truly noble Coopers out there. And Sly had all the time in the world. "Yes." he said confidently, climbing back onto the bird, a new mix of determination brewing in his gut, almost excited to show how good a thief could be.

Almost.

Clockwerk seemed excited too, as he took off into the air, gaining altitude and speed when the raccoon punched the next date into his cane.

Sly smiled. I'm doing this for you, Ayleen. For you, and for your mother.