~~~Where God Went to Die~~~

"We're here, get down…" Sly whispered to his robotic companion, who did as he was told, although not without hesitation. They perched among tall grass, shaded from the blue moon light by a fluffy green tree. Not five feet in front of the raccoon, the ground dropped steeply, opening the air to a quiet, sunken valley. The mountains enclosing the land were cold and dark, shrouded in a misty fog and endowed with lush vegetation. The inviting aroma of flowers made an earnest, yet futile effort to stand above the stench of smoke, all collected in a gentle breeze running parallel to the rivers below it.

Houses of dark wood and amenities of stone decorated the shore, each one unique in design and placement. Sly knew in four hundred years, they would all be replaced, if not demolished completely to fit a traditional ergonomic city structure. For now, they stood as proud as the trees, lit by Chōchin lanterns and open torches. Idiosyncratic to to even the most bizarrely fitted pagoda, and sure to stand the appeal of even modern scrutiny, was a giant paper-mache geisha head, spinning atop a wooden pillar. Obnoxiously lit by a maelstrom of neon rigging, no doubt provided by the valley's most improper resident; a tall, gruff and ornery tiger, who refused to respond to any name other than 'El Jefe'. Sly figured this must have been within his first few months of arrival, patrols were sparse, and the large fort where he took residence was without furnish.

"Look for a blue hood." Sly spoke calmly, hugging his arms to fight the chill.

Clockwerk kept a steady gaze on the streets. "Tell me about this one."

Sly wanted to wait until he could show the bird, not just tell, but he knew the robot was growing impatient. "Rioichi is a ninja," Sly sighed. "a thief, as well-"

"As an assassin." The bird interrupted, stealing Sly's words off his tongue. The raccoon nodded. "Explain to me when killing can be warranted."

Sly thought for a moment. "You would kill Slytukhamen if you had a chance, right?"

Clockwerk didn't move. "I do not believe it is the right thing to do. It is, however, how I would choose to act."

Sly cocked his head. "So do you believe that makes you… bad?"

The bird chuckled. "No, me wanting to murder the coopers is not what makes me bad. Acting on it, however, as I am sure I do in your time, that…makes me evil."

Sly was silent, wondering if this sense of morality was Penelope's doing, or something the bird always had.

Clockwerk seemed to sigh, looking at the clouds. "Besides, good and bad are subjective. I see Slytukhamen as bad. You see him as an idol. Therefor I assume you are bad." he looked at Sly, who was surprising himself, remaining perfectly calm against the yellow gaze. "However, you are attempting to sway my perception of your heroes. Slytukhamen would not be doing what you are." he paused, letting out another sigh. "So in a way, I suppose neither of us are to be considered bad. Not yet, at least." he finished by returning his sights back down to the valley. Sly felt a cold pinch of admiration for the monster to his side. Unknowing of just how evil he becomes in his quest to eradicate the family he supposes could be considered bad. Sly wanted to go home, back to his Carmelita, back to Bentley and Murray, back to a time where he was comfortable, and Clockwerk was long dead. He wondered if all of this time spent communicating with his deceased enemy would prove fruitful. What information did he have to gain? Back home, it wouldnt matter. If Penelope was dead set on building the full, true Clockwerk, what did getting inside his brain have to do with anything? He was just her tool, and Sly knew as well as anybody that a tool was only as useful as the hand holding it was skilled.

Penelope wasn't just skilled, she was dangerous.

"Paradox, I have a question." the bird gently spoke.

"Shoot." Was Sly's apathetically mumbled permission.

Clockwerk turned to him. "You told me… the only Cooper I could not kill…" DID not kill. Sly remembered silently. "came back to avenge his family." His eyes were yellow. "When is this? Which cooper survived?"

Sly wanted to tell him the truth, a small pool of pride still within him, knowing he was the one to slay the beast. However, he bit his tongue, weary of the power he held over the timeline. "A kid." he said slowly. The bird raised an eyebrow. "One you underestimated." Not too close…

"What was his name, Paradox?"

Sly looked back down the valley. He had to think fast, something convincing, but not too close to the truth. The timeline could forever suffer, the raccoon grimly knew. He wanted to say his father's name, out of instinct, but he had a better idea. "Ayleen." he spoke almost with a smile. "Her name was Ayleen Cooper."

Clockwerk nodded. "When was this?" He chuckled promptly. "Or rather, when will this be?"

Sly shook his head. "Listen, you know yourself how dangerous this is, us being here." Sly waved his hand around in the air. "I don't want to break anything just yet." The owl cocked his head. "And besides," Sly continued. "Story's no fun if you know how it ends." He smiled at the bird, happy to see his refusal to provide foresight was tolerated.

More so than toleration, Clockwerk seemed to be happy he was left in the dark. He was almost humming. "Ayleen… Cooper…"

The tone of his voice almost made Sly regret the name.

Which one, ringtail?

Chapter Nine

Ōmi Province*, Japan - 1603

Almost on queue at their conversation's end, Rioichi appeared, crawling along the distant rooftops towards Jefe's purloined fortress. Visible to Sly only through binoculars, his ancestor threw a swing of his arm to let fly a small metal disc into the thick neck of a rhino. The rhino took a pained step backwards, causing him to tumble off the side of the bridge where he stood guard. Sly pointed to the scene. "So… first thoughts?" he asked, keeping cautious.

Clockwerk scoffed. "I believe you will make the point that he was defending himself."

"Defending the valley, against intruders." Sly nodded. The bird asked how Sly could know who the rhino was. The Raccoon thought back to the farmer. "Im from the future, remember? So are those guys." he pointed down the cliff. "They came to steal…" from the Coopers. "Artifacts, riches, that sort of thing."

"Ah, so, a thief is noble for defending against other thieves?"

Sly shook his head. "The Coopers only steal from thieves. These guys, the invaders, came to steal from innocent people." He lied, knowing they came only for Rioichi. "Now, had that been an innocent farmer…" Sly lost himself in the memory of his ancestor, of his friend the noble Sir Galleth killing in cold blood. Sly hated to think about it, but he knew, even from his incomplete perspective, that what Galleth did was evil.

"About that, Paradox, I see your point." Sly looked at the stoic bird from the corner of his eye, unwilling to satisfy him with full attention. "I know that was not what you were expecting to see. However, I understand your view." Clockwerk was no longer watching Rioichi. "We were not there to view the farmer. Perhaps he was bad, a traitor, a spy. If you are to be believed, that those men are invaders…" he looked confidant. "then lets just call that 'innocent farmer' a bad start." he said with a bit of joviality in his voice.

Sly nodded slowly. "Uh, sure… I guess." he knew Galleth, and something about that explanation rubbed him wrong.

"Tell me about their indisputable good deeds." Clockwerk inquired, adjusting his feet, preparing to sit for a while. "Start with this one." he nodded towards Rioichi, who had just ducked through a smoke chute. "He fought invaders. What else?"

Sly shifted his legs, trying to recall an old story from his family book. "Well, he invented a form of food, one still used in my time. Sushi!… its fish… and… uh… well." Sly stopped, digging as deep as he could to find something, anything, that might help his case. His pride compelled him to lie, but he knew that wouldn't hold the bird over when he lived to see this age again. If he knew Sly was untruthful, now or in the relative future, he'd revert to his old hatred. A cold, burning hatred. The more lies, the bigger, the colder the flames.

"...Food?" Clockwerk asked bluntly.

"Yeah," The raccoon rubbed his neck as he forced the word out of his mouth. He remembered tales by the dozen of his Japanese ancestry, the legendary robberies Rioichi pulled, the nobles he fooled into disclosing their treasures, the pilgrims he… mugged… the imperial districts he helped rioters overthrow. Good, bad, even in the light of some kind of gray area, Rioichi was no hero. If Galleth was a bad start, this one wasn't a promising twist.

Sly tried to recall the context of the imperial overthrows. Was the state corrupt? Or did Rioichi side with the rebels to weaken the chances of the empire finding him and his fiendish deeds? Another lie wouldn't help. "Okay, he did a LOT for the commoners, now that I think about it." The raccoon started. "The government of this place, or… time, wasn't always fair. He saw to it that that ended."

Clockwerk clicked his tongue. "Or was he trying to take down the only ones capable of stopping him?" it was as if the owl had bugged Sly's brain, and was using his own self-doubt against him. "Have you met any of these coopers you defend the honor of?" Sly bit his lip, then shook his head. "Then I'd say that point is up to interpretation. Much like the knight."

Sly was appalled with how skilled a debater the three thousand year old bird was. Along side his shock, if not higher on the emotional shelf, was disgust. Disgust for himself for even having to try to find some, nay, ANY viably moral traits among the very same ancestors he had dedicated his entire life. "Okay, maybe he isn't the best example…" Sly laughed nervously while the bird remained silent. Sly considered apologizing, he considered finding another ancestor, he even considered giving up and travelling home. Something stopped him, something cold, and eerily familiar. The raccoon looked up at his nemesis, waiting for him to speak again. The bird stayed silent. Sly found his fist clenching around his cane, begging for him to throw a swing at the owl. Even if it was a fight he had no chance to win, he wanted to hurt him. He wanted to yank the polished metal sheets off his wings and watch as the light drained from his eyes. I can save… my entire family…

The bird, ever silent, knew he had the raccoon in check, and was waiting for him to make the next move, just to gloat at his pain. Sly hated him, the monster that killed his father, and left him an orphan just to torture his hope. Even after Sly's revenge, Clockwerk tortures him still. The owl's eyes were a cold yellow, he was thinking, thinking of how pathetic Sly's attempts were, how humorous that his arguments continued to disprove themselves.

Yellow, his eyes were yellow, and his silence deafening.

Finally, after what felt like an hour of pained thought, Clockwerk spoke. "You told me killing can be justified." he looked at Sly, invisible rage boiling underneath his brown fur. "This, Rioichi was the first you suggested."

Sly nodded in cold, factual agreement.

"Dammit Paradox, you coward!" Clockwerk scoffed, almost as if he was frustrated Sly couldn't counter that last fact. Sly even thought he heard a tinge of disappointment. "You took me all the way here, don't abandon your pride so quick."

Sly bit his lip, his tongue violently scraping against his teeth in agitation. "He killed… assassinated, nobles. Palace nobles." he included, unsure as to which side the point would fall.

"To aid himself? Or others?"

Sly scratched his head. He wanted to get this over with, the cold was starting to bother him. He thought of another time they could visit, another Cooper to make his example. All he had to do to leave was lie, just a tiny insignificant lie, but to whom? The bird or himself? He diceded just to call it all off, and take the bird home."I think… I…" he sighed. "I don't know. I want to say he only killed the deserving, and that he only helped those who couldn't help themselves… but I can't know for sure. That fortress," he pointed down to Jefe's horrible encampment. "well, the only good deed I can say Rioichi did for sure, was get rid of those invaders." Only 'cause I was there to bail him out…

Clockwerk nodded. "Invented a food and banished an invader." he thought on those words for a while. "Rioichi Cooper…" he laughed.

"Whats so funny?" Sly asked, standing and stretching his legs, ready to finally get back to his job, ready to finally get rid of this stoic monster.

Clockwerk noticed his stance and adjusted himself too. "I too would kill an invader. Assassinate one as well." Sly cocked an eyebrow. "So, how foolish of me to assume the Cooper's thievery was their prime morality."

"What are you saying?" Sly was was confused. Did his 'invader' point really go that far to sway Clockwerk?

Clockwerk flexed his talons. "It means you have shown me an argument I chose to be oblivious to. Heh, you have almost won me over, Paradox."

Somehow, that scared Sly. If he had truly almost converted the bird… "Can I take you to one last place?" He asked. The owl seemed to like the idea.

That scared Sly more.

Western Territory, United States - 1884

Had Sly known this reconnaissance mission would turn into a retread of his previous adventure, with his very own ancestors the subjects of debate with their eventual murderer, he would have sent anybody else. Even Bentley, considering his partner; A young, almost naive yet still maliciously cunning Clockwerk may have preferred the refined intellect of someone as smart as the turtle. Sly was homesick, and grew more fearful of some ulterior motive every passing minute. Clockwerk, given the chance to see another Cooper, seemed to enjoy Sly's pick. The raccoon did too, it was the closest time to home he could think of that housed a relative. A month ago, he could have been quizzed on his lineage, and would have given the names, legacy and life stories of any of his ancestors. Now, it felt as though his family was shrinking, unable to exist any closer to him in time, living only in his book of thievery, one Sly could no longer recite. The Bird may have been starting to see Sly's side of the argument, but Sly himself, no longer did.

Clockwerk was almost fond of Tennessee Kid Cooper, having spent only a few minutes actually observing his waking life. When he spoke - or inquired - of him, the bird's voice was unusually high pitched. Sly however, had to hold back his tongue in criticism of his some-odd-grandfather's technique. Sly was careful about when they appeared, a few months before the arrival of Toothpick, and subsequently, himself. Although, the raccoon did have a black urge to reveal the truth to the bird, just to see how this "naive" Clockwerk would react. He wondered if any damage had been done to the timeline thus far, if a seed of respect for the Coopers would flower into admiration by present day. Perhaps, if when he returned home, his father would still be alive. Sly found thinking about time travel was much harder than actually traveling through time, and had reminded himself not to get his hopes up that his entire life would have progressed differently in lieu of his efforts. Besides, he had things to look forward to in his own timeline. If Clockwerk had not killed his father, Sly probably would have never ended up with Carmelita, and thus, wouldn't have Ayleen to dream about.

A world where Sly could save his family, in exchange for Ayleen, Carmelita, Bentley, Murray and all his victories over the forces of evil and for the Cooper legacy. Heh, if only I could show myself to Clockwerk…

The bird spoke up. "Such strange clothing these Coopers wear…" Sly almost forgot the bird was three thousand years behind the times. His wisdom (of which he insisted came exclusively from Penelope) seemed to paint him as a much more modern creature. If the fashion of this time was the only negative quality Clockwerk had about Tennessee, it might have felt impossible his entire future was fed off hatred for the rest of the Coopers.

Hatred…

"Hey, I have another question." Sly and the bird had landed atop a giant mesa, overlooking a large industrial mining town. Oil lamps and bonfires lit the streets in the cold night, casting dancing shadows on citizen's shacks. Of course, Tennessee Kid Cooper was within those shadows, almost invisible to anyone without special vision, sleeping with his hat over his eyes under a bridge. Said bridge carried a rail track, and closed the space of a semi-wide, and very deep gorge. Tennessee was truly a Cooper, his sleep undisturbed by the wind's devilish antagonizing of the wooden bridge, and constant threat to push the careless over the side. The wind, while cold and mean, carried the smell of rain, something the dirt was in dire need of. To Sly, it smelled like a storm. "In my time, when you… well, when you die," Sly slowed his words, trying to read his companion before he continued. The bird, however, was as indecipherable as a statue. He said nothing, staring at the rafters of the bridge, thinking.

Sly gulped, and continued. "Everybody seems to think the reason you could live for so long… well, you're a machine, every machine needs fuel, right?

The bird nodded, eyes still locked on the bridge. Sly pondered where the owl's fascination truly laid.

"There was this… device, you had installed in you."

Nothing.

"It was called the Hate Chip…" the bird almost chuckled at the mention. "it kept you alive. It was fueled-"

"By hate? Hatred kept me alive for thousands of years?" There was no mistaking it now, the bird was laughing. "Don't be ridiculous."

Sly scratched his neck. "Ridiculous? I'm from the future and you're a robot from the past. Anything's possible at this point." Clockwerk shrugged. "I was just wondering if Penelope had mentioned anything about it."

Clockwerk, his tone starting to grow agitated, twitched his wings, almost brushing the raccoon. "What is your relationship with my creator?"

"What, Allah?" Sly asked, remembering the birds religious philosophy.

"No, the mouse. From your time." Ah, Penelope.

Sly sighed, stretching his legs. He had been doing a lot of sitting, and his blood was starting to feel slow. "Okay, in my time…" He considered telling a fraction of the truth, that Penelope was an ally, until a sudden and uncharacteristic change of heart. "Well, the person she got the time travel tech from, also gave it to me." he looked at the bird, who wouldn't return the gesture. "He thinks that this stuff is dangerous, er- rather knows it is. But Penelope is too. Mixing the two… well something's going to go wrong.

"That's why I came back. To stop Penelope from…" He realized something. Something dark. "Well, from making an army of you."

Clockwerk shot him a cold stare from over his shoulder. "Are you implying that is her intention?" he asked, seeming genuinely curious.

Sly shrugged, a fearful grog of bile rising in his throat. "Well like I said, that hate chip kept you going through the millennia. An army of robots, all feeding off their own hatred for a family clan…" For any family clan… he sighed, realizing that this nightmare scenario might sit just at the horizon. "You did a lot of damage in my time. Five, ten or even just one more of you… I don't even want to think about that."

Clockwerk, however, did seem to think of that reality, his eyes twitching from the ground, to the sky, and back to Tennessee. "Hatred." Hatred. "Do you believe that is why she told me stories of the Coopers?"

Wait, shit, paradoxes! Sly remembered. "Maybe." he said half-earnestly. "But as we've been seeing," he looked past the bird, down at his sleeping ancestor. "There might be more gray area than I thought." he bit down on his tongue hard for having to remind the bird to hate the Coopers.

"How does this chip work?" The bird asked. "Can something aside from hate fuel it?"

Sly tried to stay cautious; "Eh, I don't want to risk it." but the second he said it, he knew it was too much. The owls eyes flipped to red as fast as a match catching fire. He spun his head around his body and glared down at the raccoon, pining him to the dirt with a hateful hot stare.

Drinking Sly's fear, eating his hate.

"You…" The bird growled with an evil vitriol. "You're a Cooper…"

Fuck.

Sly grimaced at the name. He grabbed his cane and held it at the ready, prepared to hit the bird with everything he had. "What gave it away?" he asked only half serious, frustrated at himself for having lost the mental chess battle.

"The cane was a good hint." The owl spoke with sarcastic glee. He must have been sitting on his theory for a while, happy to finally confront the subject. "So, what will you do now, Sly Cooper?"

Fuck fuck fuck! How does he know?!

Clockwerk turned his body to the raccoon. "Will you save your clan, here and now? Or are you afraid of what that may do to you?" his wings opened and stretched what felt like a mile, his horrible red eyes painting Sly's entire body crimson.

"How… how do you know my name?" was all Sly could bring himself to yell, despite already knowing how. "Penelope-"
"Cyrille La Paradox is a stupid name!" The bird screeched. "Someone as smart as you should have tried a little harder."

They stood there, both ready to strike at the drop of a pin, but neither moved.

Both sat, staring at each other, waiting for their foe to make the first play. Suddenly, the wind made up its mind, and a huge gust swept up and over the mesa, knocking Sly off balance, and pushing Clockwerk back, his wings unable to close against the force. Sly stuck the rod of his cane into the ground to hold against the bellows. Meanwhile, Clockwerk had found a draft, and had elevated himself, flying into the wind, keeping his gaze on the raccoon with murderous accuracy. "Cooper!" he shouted, his voice piercing above the sharp roaring in Sly's ears. The raccoon looked up, and suddenly felt very young, and very vulnerable. He remembered the time he had first faced the bird, the pure terror he felt, the beating of his heart, the heat of the volcano…

He remembered when Carmelita had shouted after him, offering her aid in the battle. He remember not being as scared when she arrived. Now, Sly was alone, and the only memory he felt, was that of being very, very scared.

"Grab hold of me!" the bird continued, pushing himself further, and lunging his heavy talons into the dirt below. He must have found a stone, or at least a good grip, as Sly had enough time securely latch on to the bird's leg. He pulled his way up to the top of Clockwerk's back and hooked his cane into a crease in his plating. "Take us out of here!" the owl opened his wings to catch a hefty expulsion of air, twisting his robotic body without so much as a grunt. The two flew down the side of the mesa, Clockwerk pulling up, pointed directly at Tennessee's bridge. Sly clenched his fists and bit down hard on his lip, bracing for the impact of untrained heavy wings annihilating the wooden beams holding the bridge in place. He knew where they could go, somewhere it wouldn't matter if they were seen, somewhere they could yell and scream at each other for hours. He could get his answers there. He could get back in the lead there.

He punched the date into his cane and was just ready to hit the final button when Clockwerk tucked his wings to his side and twisted through the spacing, almost dropping sly into the chasm below.

When they both found their balance again, Sly stomped his foot against the owls back, unsure if he could even feel it. "Warn me next time!" He shouted for what felt like a pointless reason, unsure if the bird would still treat him cautiously when they landed. Sly pressed the button, and that familiar green aura lit up the dark desert skies with a horrible neon burn.

Soon, the cold wind grew colder, and the dark, darker. If Sly had made his predictions right, they would be alone.

Cold, alone, and with nothing but time to discuss their history.

Annotations

*Okay, so first off, there is no possible way that Sushi was invented in Japan, or outside of the 8th century. But then again, this is about a video game with talking raccoons and a giant robot owl, so… whatever.

That doesn't mean I didn't do a little research. So in Sly 4, the episode "Turning Japanese" didn't give an exact location as to where it was taking place, but judging by the mountain ranges (the kind depicted in the game not actually existing in japan, but instead scattered all throughout China, which is where the devs took influence, I'm sure) and the many flowing rivers, I predict that it takes place in the "Shiga Prefecture." (as we call it in modern times) which, fun fact; houses the largest freshwater lake in Japan, Lake Biwa.

…Kinda went down the rabbit hole just to get an appropriate location title for this chapter, but eh, whatever.

And okay wow this story was started like two years ago huh? Im trying to get back into writing, and have been playing around with a starfox story to warm up for my non fanfiction works. I will finish this one though, just forgive me if I get a little unorganized in the coming chapters, this story has evolved quite a bit.

Cheers.