Alright guys, looks like I have some explaining to do. First off, I apologize for the ridiculously long wait. My old laptop currently needs a screen repair. On top of that I've been dealing with a serious writers block. But enough of that! Guys I've really missed you all and I'm proud to come back with another new chapter! But before that I need to do this. If you love my story please please please do me a favor and check out Wolvehulk and Jjmt! These two have some cool Sly stories to offer you guys and one even decided to continue the story that inspired me to write this! Now then, onward and upward!

Disclaimer: I do not own Sly Cooper, the honor goes to Sanzaru.

Chapter 24: Investigation

Lost. This was what Inspector Fox felt as she looked through her notes. After Australia, she had spent the last few weeks, trying to piece things together. In Venice she was attacked and nearly murdered by former Interpol Captain Neyla, till she was rescued by a masked stranger.

But now, as of recent events, she had discovered the stranger's identity. She was not only a member of the Cooper gang, but to her surprise was Neyla as well. And that's where things got complicated for her. How in the hell could she have been in two places at once? Why would one want her dead, and the other didn't? Why would Sly…

She stopped herself right there as she looked at the photos she had recently developed. Or rather one in particular. In the center of the photos was the one where Neyla had kissed Sly. She trembled greatly looking at it, caught between anger, and sadness.

Despite her desire to capture Sly, she did admit she had an attraction towards the thief. But a slight one, a schoolgirl crush. At least… that was what she had told herself. And despite the grief he had caused her, she had grown a fondness for the raccoon.

"Why Sly?" she finally spoke to herself, her voice a bit cracked. That was the part that got her the most. Neyla caused just as much trouble for Sly, as she did to her. But he seemed… really happy in this picture, and that left a stabbing pain in her heart. Despite her attraction she always let their professional differences get in the way. And from the looks of things, she may have missed her chance with him.

She sat down and held her head in her hands. A part of her wanted to simply just, sit there and wallow. But she knew she couldn't rest till she figured out what had happened.

"It makes no sense… she should've been destroyed with Clockwerk." she muttered to herself. Then a thought occurred to her. 'Even if she survived, she'd had to have been seriously injured.' from there she pulled up a map overview of Paris. Putting a pin on Clockwerks final resting place she looked it over, and sure enough there was a hospital not far from the crash site.

'Given Neylas past it's not likely she would've chanced a hospital, but a leads a lead.' she thought as she checked for the hospitals address. After a quick check, she got cleaned up, and left her office to go follow up on her clue.

It was a slow day for Dr. Elena Mink. She had recalled doing her rounds at least three, maybe four times alone. It had been a long time since Neyla had left her family to go with Sly, and since then it had been fairly quiet. There were times she wondered how she was doing or rather…

" ." her pager had shaken her from her thoughts, picking it up she responded.

"Mink here, is something the matter?" she asked the clerk who paged her.

"There's someone here to see you about a former patient of yours." she replied back. "Should I send her in?" she finished. Elena thought for a few moments before making her decision.

"Go on ahead. Thank you Edith." she said setting her pager down, then she waited. A few minutes later a knock was heard at her door. "Come in." she spoke. When the door opened, she saw a very voluptuous fox in a yellow trench coat and blue tight pants approach her desk.

"Dr. Elena Mink?" she spoke her accent having a distinct Latin accent to it. Elena nodded to confirm her question. "Inspector Carmelita Fox, Interpol." she says showing her badge to the doctor. "Is it alright if I have a seat?" she asked stowing the badge away.

"Be my guest." Elena replied motioning to the seat in front of her desk. Carmelita sat down shedding the trench to reveal a smaller jacket underneath with a blue half shirt under that. "What brings you to my office today Inspector?" she asked her.

"I've been doing an investigation into one of our former operatives… a tigress by the name of Neyla." she spoke earning a quiet yet knowing look from the doctor. "About a year ago, she was involved in an incident that placed her on Interpol's watch list, and recently she's resurfaced." she spoke her tone remaining neutral. This, however, seemed to take Elena by surprise. "And from what I learned from your clerk, she was your patient?" she concluded allowing the mink to speak.

"y-yes, she was brought to me about a year ago." she spoke softly. "She had, appeared to have been in a serious fight of some sorts." she spoke watching Carmelita writing down something in a note book. "I treated her and when she awoke, she seemed to have little to no recollection of what brought her there." she went on.

This caught Carmelita's attention. "Could you please elaborate on that doctor?" she asked.

"I'm saying that she had amnesia. Her memories at the time were a blur to her." she continued. "As her doctor I took her into my home. Both to monitor and care for her." she spoke as memories of her time with the tigress passed through her mind.

"And what happened during the time she was in your care?" Carmelita asked her. Elena sighed as she took a deep breath.

"Well that, , is quite a story." Elena said as she began her tale. From there she told Carmelita how Neyla had bonded with her family outside her one on ones with Elena. Helping her kids with their homework, learning how to cook from Elena, taking her daughter shopping, and the list went on.

As she spoke this Carmelita listened with a vexed mind. She was describing a whole different person. There was no possible way it was the same Neyla.

"I'm sorry miss, could you please describe her appearance wise?" she interrupted. Elena halted her tale looking at the Inspector before nodding.

"Of course. She was a lilac Bengal Tigress with blue stripes, athletic build, green eyes, with long black hair." she spoke describing her appearance. "She also had a cockney accent." she finished.

'Damn it, it's her.' she sighed and looked back up. "One last question, how long was she with you and your family for?" she asked.

"About six months. Nearing the end of the sixth month, she had an encounter with a person with her past. A man by the name of Sly Cooper." she spoke softly remembering the emotions shed that night. "After making sure she was in good hands, we left her in his care." she finished.

Carmelita let it sink in for a bit, before closing her notebook and standing up. "I see… thank you for your time Dr. Mink. You've been a great help." she said offering her hand to the doctor to shake. Elena stood up and shook it. After she turned around to leave.

"Ms. Fox." She halted then turned to face Elena.

"I don't know what Neyla did in her past, but she's a different person now." she spoke. "So please… take that into account if you go after her." she implored. Carmelita thought for a bit then sighed.

"I'll… see what I can do." she says as she exited the office. With the new information in hand, she had a lot to think about.

And thats all she wrote for this chapter! Sorry if it was short, I wanted to write more but I kinda ran out of ideas for this one. That said I got something special for you guys today. In a couple hours I'll be releasing a new chapter after this one! It's been in the works for a while but next time, we're going to be checking on our favorite murderous clone and maybe... a familiar face? see you then guys!