SNAP! I can't believe this is actually my 4th chapter! I'll be honest with you guys I didn't think I'd be able to get this far. But as I have said before I

am not perfect so there may be a few mess ups in this chapter. Hope I don't disappoint you guys! And before we continue I want to give a shout out

to XxXAnime4everXxX for all the support she's given me.

Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN SLY COOPER, I ONLY OWN THIS STORY.

Chapter 4: Breakup and Reunion

Six months after the incident life within the Cooper gang was going great. Bentley was finally mobile again with a new wheel chair and it seemed that the good

times within the gang were finally restored. But unfortunately not all was well. Even though he was told countless times it wasn't his fault Murray still felt

responsible for Bentley's predicament. Over the months that guilt continued to accumulate within his heart, and overtime Murray began to change.

When he was invited to a video game tournament with Sly and Bentley he refused. Murray cooked but not with his usual peppy mood. He also hardly finished

his food. These signs began to worry Sly and Bentley. Then one day Murray locked himself in his room. Sly and Bentley tried to talk to him. But when the door finally

opened they saw Murray. But he wasn't wearing his signature outfit, and he was carrying a large bag over his shoulder.

"Murray where are you going with that?" asked Bentley.

"Sly, Bentley I know you've tried your hardest to help me cope with my mistake, but I'm afraid it wasn't enough." said Murray.

"What do you mean?" asked Sly.

"Sly I'm resigning from the gang and leaving here." said Murray. This news came as a major shock to both Sly and Bentley.

"You mean your quitting?" asked Bentley.

"Murray do you know what you're saying?" asked Sly.

"Yes I know what I'm saying and I mean it you guys." said Murray. Then moving past both his friends he started towards the door.

"Please Murray don't do this!" said Bentley.

"I'm sorry old chum but right now my mind is made up." said Murray.

"But Murray..." started Bentley, but Sly stopped him in mid sentence.

"Murray are you really sure you want to do this?" asked Sly. Then stopping Murray turned around, looked at his lifelong friends square in the eye and told them.

"I'm absolutely sure buddy." said Murray with hurt coursing in his voice.

"We're your friends Murray. If this is your decision then we'll support you." said Sly. Murray nodded.

"Good bye my friends." said Murray. Then he turned around and left.

"Sly why did you let him go?!" demanded Bentley.

"He's just lost right now. All he needs right now is to clear his mind and maybe someday he'll come back." said Sly.

"I hope your right." said Bentley.

Then in the evening back at the mink residence Neyla was having dinner with the family. Since her arrival she had been learning how to cook from Elena and

had prepared a fine meal of seared sirloin, green beans, mashed potatoes, and gravy.

"This steak is amazing Neyla!" complimented Jacques.

"I second that. You really cooked it well, and the green beans and potatoes were cooked perfectly, I'm impressed Neyla!" said Elena.

"Well I did learn from a good teacher." said Neyla.

"Delicious!" said Annie.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it everyone." said Neyla.

"So has everyone finished eating?" asked Elena. Everyone nodded. "Hope you saved room for dessert because tonight's Sundae night!" announced Elena.

Then after the dishes were done and put away they began assembling the ingredients.

"I got the ice cream!" said Annie.

"I got the bowls!" said Jacques.

"I got the whipped cream and spoons!" said Elena.

"And here's the chocolate sauce!" said Neyla. But as she opened the jar she saw to their disappointment that it was empty.

"Well that's not good." said Elena.

"Aw man!" said Annie.

"Don't worry everyone I think the stores still open. I'll head down there and see if I can find another jar." said Neyla.

"But Neyla its dark outside what if someone gets you?" asked Annie with concern.

"Don't worry I'll be careful Annie." said Neyla reassuringly.

"Then be careful." said Elena.

"I will. I'll be back as soon as possible." said Neyla. Then she left.

Meanwhile back at the Cooper hideout their dinner was a little less then joyous. With Murray gone things were really quiet. When Murray ate with them he

always had a joke to tell. That and his boundless well of optimism always brightened up the room. But with him gone it just wasn't the same.

"It's way too quiet." said Bentley.

"I know." said Sly in agreement.

"It was never this quiet." said Bentley.

"Look I'm sure wherever Murray goes he'll be alright Bentley." said Sly.

"I know but what if he never comes back?" asked Bentley.

"That's crazy talk." said Sly.

"I don't know. I mean on top of losing the van and believing my injuries are his fault..." said Bentley.

"Like I said all Murray needs right now is to clear his head." said Sly. Then he got up from the table.

"Where're you going Sly?" Bentley asked.

"I'm going for a walk." said Sly putting on his hat and picking up his cane.

"Be careful." said Bentley.

"Aren't I always?" said Sly. Then he went out onto the roofs and began his daily rounds.

"That'll be $2.50" said the clerk.

"Here you go." said Neyla handing the money to the clerk.

"Thank you and here's your sauce." said the clerk handing the jar of chocolate to Neyla.

"Thank you, have a good night." said Neyla to the clerk. Then she exited the store.

"Well that was easy." said Neyla to herself. Then she began her walk home. As she was walking she caught the attention of a few nearby boar guards.

"Well well what do we have here?" said one of the guards to Neyla. This made her stop.

"Excuse me?" asked Neyla.

"Don't you know that these streets can become very dangerous in the dead of night?" continued another guard.

This made Neyla a bit nervous.

"Would you like some 'protection' on your journey ma'am?" said another guard.

"Thanks but no thanks I can take care of myself." said Neyla as she started backing away, only to bump into yet another guard.

"But we insist." the guard said. they were beginning to annoy Neyla. Then before the guard could speak again Neyla gave him a swift kick to his 'dignity'. When

he fell she ran like hell.

"Get her!" squeaked the fallen guard. The other three quickly pursued Neyla. Neyla was running as fast as she could but somehow the guards were starting to

catch up. Then she saw a nearby alley and saw a chance to ditch them. When she reached it she turned as fast as she could and went into the alley. Then

when she saw the guards run past the alley she thought the coast was clear.

Then out of nowhere something grabbed her and caused her to drop the chocolate sauce.

"Got you!" said yet another guard. Then the other three guards entered the alley to join their friend.

"Let go of me you bastards!" said Neyla.

"I don't think so. No one kicks one of us and gets away with it." said the guard that held her captive. Then the other three began their approach. Neyla knew it

was futile but it was her only option left. She had to scream for help.

As Sly continued his rounds he managed to amass a bit of loot pick pocketed from the local ne'er do wells. 12 silver combs, 8 bronze pens, and 6 silver and gold

rings.

"Not a bad haul." said Sly. Then just as he was about to head back to the safe house he heard it.

"HELP!" shouted a voice. Normally Sly would leave things like that to law enforcement but his heart told him otherwise. Running like there was no tomorrow, he

headed for the source of the scream. He stopped at an alley way and looked down to see four boar guards and a woman. One of the four was holding the woman

and the other three were about to assault her.

"Not on my watch." said Sly as he jumped down into the alley to face them.

"Hey Pork chops!" Sly shouted to get the guards attention.

They turned around and saw the sleek form of a blue clothed raccoon.

"You talking to us?" said one of the guards.

"Let the lady go or I'll have to teach you some manners." said Sly. The guards just laughed.

"A tiny runt like you is going to teach us manners? Ha!" said one of the guards.

"Then you should have no trouble taking me down." said Sly. The guards saw he was being serious.

"Alright then prepare to get crushed raccoon!" said another of the guards. Then all three charged at Sly. Then Sly quickly deployed a smoke bomb. Then when

the guards went into the cloud all you could hear was squealing and blows landing followed by three loud consecutive slams. Then when the smoke cleared the

fourth guard saw all of his comrades knocked out and in a pile before the raccoon.

"You're next." Sly said to the guard. Then without a second thought the guard ran before he suffered the same fate as his comrades leaving the woman

behind.

She appeared passed out.

"You alright miss..." started Sly. Then the moonlight shined down into the alley to reveal the slightly beaten form of Neyla. The very sight of her froze him in his

tracks.

"Neyla?!" said Sly. Then Neyla woke up.

"Who... you!" said Neyla.

"I don't know how you got here Neyla but I know how you're getting out!" said Sly as he began to raise his cane for an attack.

"Wait who are you and how do you know my name?" asked Neyla.

"Don't play dumb with me you know who I am... Traitor!" said Sly as he brought down his cane. Neyla narrowly dodged it scared out of her mind trying to figure

out why the raccoon was attacking her.

"Listen calm down please." said Neyla trying to get Sly to cool down, only for him to try and whack her again.

"After everything you pulled I don't think so!" said Sly.

"What on earth are you talking about?" asked Neyla. Then before she could get another question out her neck was pinned to the wall by Sly s cane.

"If you honestly don't remember anything then look at me in the eye and say that." said Sly. He was shocked when she did just that. Looking Sly square in the eye

green eyes meeting brown her look alone said she was speaking the truth. Then removing his cane from Neyla's neck he spoke.

"How'd you survive?" he asked.

"What?" Neyla asked.

"The explosion that happened almost six months ago?" asked Sly.

"No I don't all I remember is one second I'm knocked out then the next thing I know is waking up in a hospital with my memories in a blur." said Neyla. then

Neyla explained to him all that had happened up to that very moment.

"So you expect me to believe you have amnesia and helping out a family of minks that supposedly saved you?" asked Sly.

"That about sums it up." said Neyla.

"After all the stuff you pulled in the past I'm going to have a hard time believing that." said Sly.

"I'll even show you." said Neyla. Sly thought about this for a minute then he came to a decision.

"Alright but no tricks." said Sly.

"Follow me." said Neyla. Then the two headed for Neyla s home.

Within minutes they arrived at the mink residence. Then Neyla knocked on the door. Seconds later the door was answered.

"Who is it...? Neyla!" said the concerned voice of Elena.

"Hey Elena." said Neyla.

"Good Lord! What happened to you? And who is this?" asked Elena.

"I got ambushed by a gang of boars and he saved me." said Neyla. Then she looked at the raccoon. Then she motioned for both of them to come inside. They

went into the living room to talk.

"Thank you for helping Neyla. I'm Elena. May I ask your name?" said Elena.

"Sly Cooper." said Sly.

"Did you say 'Cooper'?" asked Elena.

"It's my last name. Why?" asked Sly.

"When my kids found Neyla they said they heard Neyla mutter that exact name." said Elena.

"Which means?" asked Sly.

"In some cases of amnesia when someone unconsciously mentions a name it's was the last thing they remember, and the day she woke up she gave us your

description." said Elena.

"So you have been looking for me for the past six months?" asked Sly.

"That's correct, but in that time frame Neyla has been a great help to our family." said Elena.

'So Neyla is telling the truth' thought Sly.

"Hey mom what's taking so long?" asked Jacques.

"In a minute Jacques." said Elena. Then Elena looked at Neyla then at Sly then she spoke to Sly again.

"Sly we've done all we could to help Neyla with her amnesia but I think she would be better off with you." said Elena. This caught Sly by surprise. "I know you

are probably surprised by this but if you are a being from Neylas past you may be able to help with her amnesia." said Elena. Sly thought about this for a

moment.

'I hope this doesn't come back to haunt me.' thought Sly. Then he spoke. "You're right. Neyla would you like to come with me?" asked Sly with a barely

noticeable trace of hesitation.

"I don't know Sly. I mean how would the kids feel about this?"Neyla asked. Then Elena spoke to her.

"They'll understand." said Elena. Then Neyla thought for a few moments. Then she came to a decision.

"Elena could you call the kids please?" said Neyla.

"Sure thing, kids come here please." called Elena. Then the kids entered the room.

"What's up...!" said Jacques when he saw the very being he saw over six months ago. "Neyla is that..." asked Jacques.

"I believe so." said Neyla. "Come here kids." said Neyla. The kids got closer to her.

"Neyla are you going away?" asked Jacques with trembling in his voice.

"Yes Jacques." said Neyla with sadness in her voice. Jacques was able to maintain his composure but it was more than Annie could take. "Annie." started Neyla.

Then Annie ran to Neyla, embraced her and began to cry.

"Please don't go Neyla!" cried Annie.

"It's alright Annie." said Neyla. Then Annie released Neyla and drooped her head in sadness. Then Neyla moved Annie back a few steps. Then she got on her

knees so she would be at level with Annie.

"Annie." said Neyla as she gently picked up her head with her hand till blue eyes met green.

"As much as I want to stay here I can't." started Neyla.

"Why?" asked Annie sniffled with tears still lingering in her blue eyes.

"Because there's still a lot I don't know about my past and this man may be the only person who can help me through it all." said Neyla. Annie still looked a bit

upset.

"but even though I'm leaving I'll still be with you." said Neyla. Then Annie looked at Neyla again.

"How?" asked Annie.

"Even if I'm not here in person, I'll be with you in here." said Neyla as she pointed to the mink's heart. Then Annie's tears ceased and the young girl embraced Neyla.

"I'm going to miss you Neyla." said Annie.

"I know." said Neyla returning the embrace.

"Promise you won't forget me?" asked Annie.

"I promise." said Neyla. Then they broke the embrace. Then Neyla got up and looked at Elena.

"Elena I want to thank you again for all the kindness you and your family has shown me." Neyla said.

"We were happy to help and we were glad to have you here." said Elena with a smile.

"I'll wait outside until Neyla has her stuff ready." said Sly as he headed for the door.

"Well do you guys want to help me pack?" Neyla asked.

"I'll be happy to oblige." said Jacques.

"Same here!" said Annie. After about thirty minutes all of Neylas belongings were packed.

"Well that's everything." said Elena.

"Not quite." said Annie.

"What do you mean?" asked Neyla.

"Wait here." said Annie then she dashed off. A few moments later she returned with a small box in her hand.

"What is in the box Annie?" Neyla asked.

"See for yourself." Annie said as she handed it to Neyla. Neyla opened the box to find a scarlet sash with a pattern of golden hearts lining

the edges.

"When we found you that was around you head like a hood." said Annie.

"But since it was tattered we considered tossing it but Annie had the idea to fix it up." said Jacques.

"It's beautiful. Thank you Annie." said Neyla.

"Consider it a farewell gift, and whenever you put it on you can think of us." said Elena. Neyla smiled as she tied the sash around her waist.

"Time for me to go." said Neyla. When they reached the door they said their good byes.

"Good bye everyone." said Neyla. "Good bye Neyla." said Elena. They had one final group hug then Neyla left.

"You ready?" Sly asked outside.

"Yes I am." Neyla said.

"Now fair warning there's someone at my place who won't be too happy to see you." said Sly.

"Thanks for the heads up." said Neyla.

"Shall we?" asked Sly.

"Lead the way." said Neyla. Then the two headed for the hideout.

When they arrived at the hideout Bentley was anything but happy.

"Sly! Are you nuts?!" said Bentley. When Bentley saw Neyla with Sly he was furious. Before their argument began Sly told Neyla to go get situated in another

room.

"Well I couldn't just leave her there." said Sly.

"But even so have you forgotten what she did?" Bentley asked. Then Sly saw exactly where his friends rage was coming from.

"Bentley she can't even remember that day." said Sly.

"Yeah but I do and because of her we were separated for weeks!" said Bentley.

"That is true but think if that was Murray or me with amnesia what would you do?" Sly asked. This got Bentley right in the heart.

"Bentley she may have done some terrible things to us in the past but even so I think it's fair that we give her a chance." said Sly.

"Then what happens when she gets her memories back? She'll turn on us like she did back in India!" said Bentley.

"Don't be so sure Bentley." said Sly.

"Why not Sly? Give me one good reason." asked Bentley.

"When I met up with the people that cared for her she was far from the old Neyla. I think the good may outweigh her bad." said Sly.

"Still give me one good reason why she should stay here." said Bentley.

"She may be able to help us." said Sly.

"What?" Bentley asked.

"I think she could help us out as a member of the gang." said Sly. Bentley s jaw dropped.

"You can't be serious." said Bentley.

"With Murray gone we're going to need the extra help." said Sly. Bentley thought about this and he knew that Sly was being serious.

"Fine I'll give her a chance." said Bentley.

"That's all I'm asking." said Sly.

"But if she so much as shows any signs of her former self she out of here." said Bentley.

"Something tells me we won't have to worry about that." said Sly as he headed to his room.

Good gravy that took forever! I am so sorry that took so long! I would have had this done 2 weeks ago but the Internet at my house has been going

on the fritz! I had to finish this up at my mom's work place! I'll bring Carmelita in right before the gang heads to Venice. Before I head out once

again I want to thank XxXAnime4everXxX for all the support. She also has a great Sly Cooper story so please check it out. Read & Review and I'll see

you later!