Hey everyone,
So this may or may not be the final chapter of the story. I am sincerely not sure as I do know that I have a plotline – namely to have a member of the team get in danger during the whole transferring of the treasure – but how it will happen now that there is more treasure to be gained outside the cave than inside I am not sure.
I may cause a bit of trouble for each of the characters or I will cause major danger for one of them and then have another of them become an unexpected hero – my favor for that would be either Carmelita or her siblings. Personally, I think I am going to go with a bit of a mix, but I do think I can be sure of either of two things.
Either this chapter will just sum up how the team spreads out to get their treasure and then ends with either one or all of them being in either a lot or small bits of danger and then next chapter will be about either that one person getting saved or they themselves solving the issue – or this will turn into one SERIOUSLY long ending.
Well, we'll see,
Venquine1990
PS. Credits to this story go to Kitty Petro.
The next day
Carmelita's POV
We all took different pathways back to where Bentley was waiting for us in the shack and all drained ourselves of our last cameras in whatever little cave or crevice we could find and while with some of them Bentley asked us to go back as there was nothing in there, did we still stumble upon several more small piles of treasure.
And with each pile did I feel more and more excited for this whole mission, while at the same time I could almost feel the giddiness over getting his hands on all this estranged gold growing inside my partner and the other leader of the gang as Sly had been almost bouncing when he re-entered the cabin at the end of the trip back.
Bentley, however, had managed to calm him down by saying: "Easy there, Sly, the gold's not in the van yet, remember?" And it had instantly brought back the Cooper Gang leader, Sly turning strong and serious once again and nodding at his friend before we focused on having some dinner and getting ready for bed.
Now I feel ready. Ready to take on this task and to get the gold that we found stashed in all those crevices near that crazy platform, yet as we all re-enter the living room, can I barely believe how much it has changed overnight and do I very much worry over whether or not Bentley even thought of going to bed last night.
Video screens of each and every camera that we have hidden around the mountain is plastered against every wall and even slightly tilted at where the walls meet the ceiling. The couches and benches have disappeared and the only piece of furniture is a table that is practically dying under a mountain of papers and maps and diagrams.
"Is he always like this?" Cheren asks, his eyes probably just as wide as mine and Sly says: "When he's as excited as I am, yes." Making Helena giggle and Bentley send my partner a glare, which loses its actual ferocity thanks to the heavy bags I can clearly see under his eyes and I say: "Sleepy glares don't scare Sly, Bentley, you know that."
And the turtle groans before he says: "Just get yourselves over here so we can start with the mission." And we all move over to the table as Bentley just shoves at least 90% of the diagrams, maps and other bits of paper off the table and then activates one of his wheelchair computers as he says: "I have done a lot of research and think I have a plan."
Yet dad seems not to care for this as he says: "You can call yourself so lucky none of us are Auditors, Bentley, cause that would be considered a paper-waste crime right there." And Bentley groans again before he says: "I copied the papers into my computer. Now, I have studied the cave, the mountain and all of our powers and abilities.
Based on that do I believe I have come up with a plan where we can all work with 100% efficiency, get all of the gold that is hidden all over the mountain, not get spotted and still get all of this done, on a plane and back in Paris long before that crazy politician can even get here. However, full force and skill will be required. Do not lose focus."
Here we all nod and then Bentley lets the diagram he has been using rise up so that it becomes a virtual 3D-model on the table and he says: "Murray, you and Guru go into the cave. I want the Guru to use his climbing skills and his experience with caves to scavenge the inner parts, while you punch the gems at the entrance out."
"Gotcha. This is going to awesome working alongside you, Master." The big hippo says as he helps the smaller panda onto his arm and then Bentley says: "Cheren, I want you and Carmelita – sorry Sly – to take the challenging course on the right side of the mountain. Your skills in athletics should make that the easiest for you both."
My brother and I nod at him and then I decide to reveal a little secret that we of the Fox Family are infamous for and say: "Plus, the Fox Family has been born with extra thick tails that can actually store whatever we want as our fur hair is much more sturdy and full on our tail. It's been a trait that has passed down several generations."
The others look shocked and then Cheren laughs and says: "Yeah, I used to hide all these stashes of cookies and chocolate in my tail for days on end, especially when mum and dad were out and we were being babysat. That Endromella really didn't know how to cook with flavor, let me tell you that." And Helena and I shudder in agreement.
Bentley shakes his head and says: "Either way, Sly, I want you and Helena to take the other side. As Murray already showed, that side of the mountain will require movement between different heights of platforms and because Helena can make something out of anything, I believe her variability can help this side better than athletics."
"Thanks, Bentley, I just hope Carmelita won't start to believe that I am planning something with her sister. Sorry Helena dear, but my heart belongs with your better sibling. Just kidding with you, sis." And while my sister sends a raised eyebrow at my laughing partner do I personally suppress a blush at his last insinuation.
"So what are our jobs, Bentley?" Dad asks and Bentley says: "It might not sound like much, Marcus, but I need you to gather everything the rest is collecting. The less they have to carry, the more they can collect and the faster they can move. And the faster they can move, the less days it will take us to empty this entire mountain clean."
Dad nods and says: "That sounds like just the job for me. Thanks Bentley." And the turtle gives him a relieved smile, obviously in the belief that dad would consider this job below his standards or something and then he says: "Helena, your job is a little similar, yet I just –." Yet mum interrupts him and says:
"Switch between the three teams and see whether or not they need some medical aid. Don't worry, Bentley, I already packed half of my bags with all the medical supplies I could snatch out of the local black-market pharmacies and hospitals before we even left for this trip." And that statement causes total silence to ring through the cabin.
"You – you stole medical supplies – from the black market pharmacies?" Bentley asks and Sly asks: "Do you have any idea on how hard that is? I get nearly caught every single time I try that. It's like they're expecting me." And mum smirks as he says: "They are – but they never expected me, which made it easy to do."
We all look at her shocked for a few more minutes and then Bentley says: "That's it, from now on, Sly and Sophia share supply gathering duty before we leave for new missions, especially medical supplies." And Sly nods, his eyes still wide as he looks at my mum and I think: "Take that for calling my sister yours, Sly Cooper."
Then Bentley recovers from his shock and says: "Okay, everyone, you got your orders, you know what to do. I'll stay here and keep an eye out through the cameras. Now go and fill the Cooper Vault." And instantly all six of us happily scramble for the door, my brother and I giggling as we head over to the platform area.
Once there do we take another good look around and Cheren says: "You know what? I think I'll take care of whatever is hidden around the platform. You know, whatever isn't cleaved into the mountain through the small crevices. I'll just leave those to you and once I'm done – I might just check if those platforms don't have stuff to hide."
This makes me look down at how thin and wobbly some of the platforms look, yet some of them definitely look stable enough to have at least one small cave hidden somewhere inside them and I say: "Not a bad idea – just make sure you're careful." And Bentley says: "Very careful. I doubt your mum wants to revive you from a nasty fall."
Here Cheren cringes and says: "Yeah, last time she had to do that, she really wasn't happy." At this I feel like facepalming and say: "Last time she had to do that, you tried jumping between two trees standing in our backyard.""Hey, I was sure the storm from the night before had made them bent over and be closer together.
And I was nine!" He exclaims, but then Sly sounds over the ear communicators and says: "As amusing as that sounds, maybe we should do more scavenging and less daydreaming, guys." And my brother and I share equal hues of red before we chorus: "Got it." And start scavenging the parts Cheren says we can perform best at.
At the cave
Murray's POV
Hearing Cheren and Carmelita bicker had definitely been a lot of fun and I had actually pressed my ear communicator to full receive their conversation when I heard Cheren make his comment about the last time his mum had to patch him up from a bad fall. Sly's kind admonishment had been like the cherry on top of a delicious funny sundae.
"Hikocha immibi hereh. Heheheh." My master then says and thanks to months of studying under him I understand his native tongue and say: "Yeah, it's always a lot of fun to hear siblings bickering. Adding Cheren, Helena and Carmelita to the team was a genius move. They really liven up the hideout, whether they're arguing or otherwise."
Then the master turns to the deeper parts of the cave and says: "Fururda jeutst o thethin." And I turn a little red as I say: "Yeah, Helena is definitely the uh – well – I get why Sly likes the Fox Family so much. And why he wanted Carmelita so badly. At least, now that I met Helena I do." And my master smiles at me as he says:
"Thuruoh Tshecka." Before jumping, moving his body to be plastered against one side of the cave and scurrying deeper inside, his Moonstone on top of his new cane lighting the path for him, yet diminishing from my sight the further he gets and while I turn my focus back on my own mission, do I mutter to myself:
"Live your dream. Heh, might not be a bad idea. Hey, maybe I can find a gem that can relate to how I feel about Helena and then give it to her as a present for a first foreign mission well done. That would be awesome." And with that do I happily jump up and move myself to roll up into a huge ball before bouncing down.
Focusing my whole form on when I land and then pressing my body against the ground as hard as I can before releasing this pressure allows me to jump back up and like this, in ball shape and bouncing harder and faster with each time I hit the floor – and after a few jumps the ceiling – do I start to shake this part of the cave.
Left side the Mountain
Sly's POV
I'm quite sure the others had pressed their ear communicators when Cheren had made his comment on his last deep fall accident and so I had kept my own communicator pressed after admonishing Cheren and Carmelita and while I can only imagine how cute my foxy lady must look, do I also feel intrigued by what I hear from Murray.
"Murray – wants to give me – one of the gems he will find?" Helena asks shocked and I smile at her as I say: "It might be best if you don't tell him that you know. Don't worry, I already disabled both of our communicators from being overheard by Murray or Carmelita. As much as I love her, I don't want her voice to distract me."
And Helena giggles as she asks: "Still struggling with those instincts, are you?" Yet this shocks me before she rolls her eyes and says: "Sly, I practically trained Cheren to be able to fight whatever enemy came at him. I studied as many different kinds of animals for his training and yes, raccoons were amongst them.
I even once made him practice against me as I pretended to be a raccoon in instinctual rage over the belief he had hurt my mate. I know how raccoons behave and how their instincts work, so I was onto you and Carmelita the whole time. Though it was Carmelita's show of instincts that first made me notice the signs, really."
This makes me turn a little red and I then distract myself by studying the mountain side Murray had taken the other day. And he had not been joking. The mountain next to this one definitely is a lot more rough looking and has quite a few edges sticking out, making the pathway quite the challenge, yet still more sturdy than the platform.
There is also more greenery around here and I mutter: "I'm willing to bet a lot of that greenery hides treasure." And Helena answers: "Murray and I definitely found a lot in grotto's that were near the roots of all those smaller trees, though we need to be careful with those. A few of them have scorpions guarding the treasure."
This makes me grimace, but then I smirk and say: "Not to worry, Bentley equipped my smoke bombs with a bit of tranquilizer. We already believed we could run into wildlife in this massive middle of nowhere, so he equipped my equipment to the brim in case I would have to take the lead in multiple missions or something."
Helena nods and asks: "So Sly, any reason you called me sis back there. Carmelita sure seemed to think so." At this I fight down on the blush that wants to escape me and then quickly – through my Binocucom – check to see if my communication with Carmelita and Cheren is still blocked off – before I say:
"What you should know, Helena, is that when it comes to things like this, I am usually a very, very devout traditionalist. However, seeing as how I have more chance with you than with your dad at the current moment – I was secretly hoping that you would pick up on that little hint of mine instead of your gorgeous sister."
The girl looks confused and I raise my eyebrow as I ask: "Surely you noticed how I have been leaving small tokens of my affection with Carmelita in her room for the past fortnight?" At this the girl nods and says: "I did. How did you even manage it last night? Cheren and I were sharing with Carmelita and we still didn't hear you."
Here I roll my eyes and says: "Even Bentley's best equipment can't detect me if I don't want it to. And trust me, he's been trying to develop equipment that can for as long as we have been working together. Now, would you care to guess what all these gifts have in common with each other, sweet older sister of my beloved?"
Here the girl looks thoughtful and confused as I start digging out one of the first caves that she and the others had found on the way back after Carmelita had made her revelation and then, just when I have several of handfuls of gems and jewels plucked out of the cave that Helena gasps in shock and that Marcus arrives.
The father looks at his sister, yet I decide to take my chance and jump down from the double ledge of which the higher one hid the cave with the gems and say: "Marcus, I just explained the situation of the last fortnight and its relevance to my little tease to her just now and now I would like to ask you and your eldest a single question."
The man himself looks confused and curious whereas his daughter has eyes wide with shock and amazement and then I smile at the man and say: "I will admit that I have yet to find that which will equal all that your daughter means to me, however – once I do – do I have your and your daughter's permission – to marry Carmelita?"
And while Helena squeals in utter excitement, does something then happen that makes me instantly regret asking this here as her left foot lands wrong and lands outside the ledge we are standing on, causing for her to lose her balance and for her scream of excitement to get changed into one of life-threatening fear.
Instantly I pull out my cane, attach the hook to a huge crooked bit of rock sticking out of a part of the mountain just above our path and reach out, grabbing hold of her flailing wrist with one hand while my other strengthens my grip to make sure I don't follow after her, yet even while I have her hand, does the rest of her slip.
And just like that is her whole body hanging down the side of the edge and I silently curse myself for my stupidity to make this decision and ask a question of this magnitude in a situation like this, but just when I wonder why Marcus isn't helping me pull his daughter back on the ledge, do I hear him calling me and saying: "Ehm – Sly –."
And when I look at him, do I see his face having blanched, yet he is not looking at us or even at me. Instead of that he is looking at the mountain top and when I look up, do feel like absolutely screaming out a slur of curses. Helena's scream has caused an avalanche to come down – and my cane is hooked into the front paw of a mountain lion.
Right side of the mountain
Carmelita's POV
Mum has actually come in dad's place a few times to help us collect the treasure I have been able to get out of the mountain side crevices and caves and Cheren has already safely deposited the treasure he found in the trees and bushes in his tail, yet now both of us are looking at the mountain in utter shock over what we just heard.
"That was – Helena, right? She – she sounded hyped up and – and then scared. What – what do you think happened?" I ask shocked and concerned and Cheren says: "I – I'm not sure, but – but mum said that dad had just left for them when she came here last so – so she has both dad and Sly to rely on. She's probably fine now."
At this I nod and ask: "So, want to try and take a look down there?" And we both take a glance down at the cliff that separates us from most of the small platforms that make up the pathway in front of us and I let my eyes swiftly roam over all of the pillars that stabilize the platforms before I look back at Cheren and say:
"I think we can check at least four from the first row, but only two in the next row. How about you go through the ones I see are safe to check and I will keep to the mountain side so I can keep a clear vision of which pillars are sturdy enough for you to slide or climb up them? Does that sound alright with you, big brother?"
And Cheren happily nods before I motion for one of the pillars I feel sure can hold his weight and my brother jumps over, instantly wrapping his whole form, including his tail, around the pillar before he slides down, yet he stops almost at the bottom in shock before turning around the structure and sliding down a little further.
He looks and while I stretch out my neck to have a better look at him, does he then smile and say: "We got jackpot down here. The whole thing is practically spewing with gems!" This makes me smile widely and I shout: "Throw them up. I'll catch them and hand them to mum!" And my brother instantly complies.
Making sure not to jump onto any platform I don't believe is able to hold my weight, I use my arms and tail – and on time even my lush mane of hair – to catch the gems and while I actually bend my ears to keep hold of the gem in my hair, do I then return to the safe part of the route, just when mum arrives, looking horrified.
This worries me and I ask: "Mum, what – what's wrong?" And mum asks: "Where is Cheren?" And my brother answers: "I'm hording gems here, mum! Don't worry." And mum looks at him over the ledge as he jumps to another pillar I had pointed out, his hands and feet swiftly and thoroughly scouring the pillar for holes.
Mum sighs in relief and I ask: "Mum – what happened?" And mum's answer is horrible: "Sly asked something of your father that shocked Helena into losing her balance and while her scream caused an avalanche on their side, did Sly try to save her, yet as he did, did he hook his cane into the front paw of an advancing mountain lion."
"OF A WHAT?" I ask in horror and I feel myself jumping up from where I had still been crouching over the edge, yet to my bad luck, do I land on exactly one of the pillars that can't hold my weight and while it takes me a second and the sound of rock cracking to realize this, does my realization come too late for me to respond.
The pillar cracks under my weight and I try to reach out for another pillar with one arm, yet also reach for my cane with my other and with this one do I manage to plunge the hooked tip into a hole that is situated in one of the nearby pillars. Yet before I can breathe in relief, do I hear something else that makes my heart freeze.
"AAAAH! HELP!" Instantly I look down and feel my heart sink down lower than this cliff as I see how part of the crumbling pillar has crushed Cheren's tail between it and two other pillars that have their starting base a little higher than the rest, while he himself is trying desperately to keep a larger bit of rock from crushing him.
"MUM, TRY AND GET MURRAY! I WILL TRY AND RELEASE CHEREN'S TAIL, BUT I NEED MURRAY'S STRENGTH TO MOVE THAT ROCK!" I shout orders and while mum makes sounds that prove she is besides herself with worry, do I still hear her footsteps fading, proving she is following my lead.
I then – while worried for my brother and hating myself for my stupidity and rookie mistake – scan the rest of the pillars for other crevices and while my eyes spot a few with gems almost dropping out of them, do I ignore these for others that are empty and jump over to those, attaching my hook to them and dropping lower.
I reach my brother and say: "Careful, Cheren. I am going to try and remove this boulder, but it might hurt a bit, okay? Make sure you move your tail as little as possible." To which Cheren mutters: "Thanks for the advice, sis, but I can barely move as it is. Ugh, ngh." And while I feel for him, do I then get to work.
I stick my cane between the crashed boulder and one of the two pillars, yet as I try to separate them, do my eyes widen as I hear new sounds of rocks cracking and I look at the pillar I am trying to move, realizing that the only thing keeping it up is a lot of moss and grime and think: "If I try to separate these two, that pillar will tumble."
In the cave
Murray's POV
The constant jumping in ball form has definitely left me a little bruised as a few times I either had hard gems land on me from the ceiling or I accidentally hit a pointed bit of rock sticking out, yet the biggest issue I am currently dealing with is that my ears are ringing with the sound I make whenever I crash against the rocky walls.
Really hoping that Sophia can help me with this, do I wonder how much gold and other treasures the others are finding as they must be keeping her and Marcus very, very busy and while part of me wonders if I should change my plan from gem or treasure, do I then notice something that really confuses me.
My jumps have been very consistent in strength, height and everything, yet for some reason it feels as if the ceiling has come a little closer to the floor and I try to slow down my jumps a little so I can lift my head out of the ball formation and see why this is, yet just then do I hear footsteps coming from outside the cave.
This relieves me until I see how frightened and worried Sophia looks as she comes running at me and instantly, while still in the air and near the ceiling, do I pull out of my ball form and land my full girth on the ground as I ask: "Mrs. Fox, what's the matter? The Murray's fine, you know, just a scratch or two here and there."
Yet the woman shakes her head and says: "I'm not here on my mission, Murray, I'm here because Carmelita ordered me. There was an accident with Sly and Helena, which shocked an accident out of Cheren and Carmelita and now Cheren is stuck under a huge bit of boulder that is trying to crush him and Carmelita needs your HELP NOW!"
And instantly I feel my whole blood drain from my face and my body tense up as if I just got shot with a multitude of Bentley's Paralyzing darts before I ask: "What? But – but what happened with Sly? Is he alright? What of Helena?" But Sophia shakes her head and says: "Marcus is with them; he'll help them, go SAVE CHEREN!"
And while I kind of feel as if there is something she isn't telling me, do I nod, yet as I take only a single step, do I then hear something other than the slight ringing in my ears from my jumps and the horrified near screams and shouts of Sophia as suddenly I hear a bit of rock falling from the ceiling, making me look up.
And only a second later do I shout: "LOOK OUT!" Jumping and pulling Sophia in my arms as I jump away from the now collapsing mountain cave entrance yet as the dust settles, do I instantly scramble for the closed off entrance and shout: "MASTER! MASTER, ARE YOU OKAY! WHERE ARE YOU MASTER! MASTER!"
Only to actually hear his voice in my ear communicator speak and say: "Crisora! Hekema buo siphia." And I sigh in relief over the fact that he has actually found and used one of the emergency exits before I say: "That's the master safe. Now let's get Cheren from under that boulder and then we can go help Sly and Helena."
And Sophia nods at me, gratitude and heartfelt relief showing all over her face and making me feel stupid for not instantly going to her daughter and son's aid when she asked it of me. A few minutes later has she helped me descend down the pillar road and with ease do I take hold of the boulder that almost crushes Cheren.
The boulder that is holding his tail is still there, yet Carmelita is still busy breaking the second pillar down from top to bottom and just after I have thrown the boulder down into the ravine far away from the pillar platform, does she crumble the last bit of pillar with her cane before using it as a lever to lift up the smaller boulder.
Cheren happily pulls his tail out and while trying to caress out any possible creases – and probably rubbing the sore part – of his tail, does he say: "Thanks you guys, I really don't know how much longer I could have hold it out down there." And we both nod before we all climb back up through sturdier pillars.
Yet when we are back on the mountain edge besides the pillars, does Carmelita say: "We need to go. Sly is trying to keep Helena from falling down the cliff she slipped on and he's dealing with both an avalanche and a mountain lion to booth." And instantly I whiten before dashing for the other side of the mountain like never before.
And my unexpected burst of speed proves highly necessary as – while Marcus has managed to break a large bit of rock into a shelter against the ongoing avalanche – the mountain lion is actually fighting Sly and his cane, albeit it being with one of its front paws bleeding with a huge gaping hole in the middle of it.
Then I see blood coming from the cane, yet the only reason I spot this is because the gold flashes past the mountain lion in a missed hit and Sly cries out as the beast's paw strikes his front at the shoulder, yet while I admire my brother in all but blood for actually still holding onto Helena, do I also see him losing his cane in the process.
And to my utter anger does the mountain lion seem intelligent enough to be devious as it actually swipes the cane away from Sly with its tail before it hunches down, yet instantly I dahs over again, moving myself in a familiar position and pushing the pounding beast away with my shoulder just when it tries to strike.
The lion roars in shock, yet I smirk as I manage to push it exactly where I want it, causing for a small gust of dust to cloud over and when it settles, do we all see the mountain lion stuck between two bits of the two mountains, exactly where I had to climb up to a higher ledge to make my way across and roaring and hissing furiously.
Yet the beast is unable to escape and then I notice how some of the rocks that are falling away from us look broken, making me look up just when Sly manages to pull Helena back onto the ledge and just when Marcus swipes his cane through the last boulder falling down, breaking it in two and making it fall away from me.
I smile at the man and then say: "Let's go, guys. Bentley must be worrying his shell off of his body by now." And everyone nods before Sly says: "I think we need to call this mission off. There are too many dangerous obstacles for this to continue working. We should just try and increase the danger level so others will avoid this place."
We all nod and then head back. And once inside the Cabin I get proven right as Bentley is all over us, checking every one of us, including the master who has apparently managed to arrive before we did and who only has a small bandage covering a part of his arm. Then, when Bentley is done worrying, does Sophia step in.
She pulls out all of the medical supplies she mentioned this morning and she starts patching us up. Yet as she does, do I look at my leader as something about all this feels off and I ask: "Sly? What happened? I heard that an accident happened with you and Helena, which caused an accident to happen with Cheren and Carmelita.
But you're always the most careful of us when we're dealing with situations like this, so – what happened?" Yet while I ask this, can I not help but notice that Cheren, the master and Carmelita seem just as confused, while Bentley, Sophia and Marcus already seem to be in the know and Sly sighs before he says:
"I messed up, Murray. I thought I could make use of our situation and underestimated the level of danger this area posed and I slacked off and focused on a topic I never should have addressed in a place like this. I endangered Helena and for that, I'm sorry. Helena, Marcus, just forget I asked. I'm clearly not ready yet."
And while I wonder what the heck it is that I missed, does Marcus say: "You did not mess up, Sly. You merely focused more on your own levels of experience than ours. Which, even with this being a Master Thief Heist and not an Interpol case, really shouldn't have mattered as much seeing as how I explore areas like this all the time.
Or, at least I used to. I stopped that a year ago and it shows. And Helena has been so overloaded by Barkley that she has also lost her touch, that much is very, very clear. You're not the one that failed, Sly, we just overestimated ourselves and got cocky. We should have paid better attention to our surroundings and we didn't."
Yet Sly doesn't seem convinced and then Sophia says: "We'll just talk about this later. Maybe – when we're back at the Hide Out?" And Sly nods, yet Carmelita, Cheren and I share a confused look as we just can't understand what these three are talking about – or why Sly looks so down about not being ready for something.
A week later
The Hide Out, Paris
Murray's POV
In the end, the Master, Marcus and Sophia stayed behind in the mountains with Bentley as the master could keep wildlife away from the two and Marcus' canes made him both swift on his feet and able to dash between all kinds of platforms and surroundings easily. And whatever scratches he did get, Sophia patched them right up.
The Master definitely worked hard on keeping beasts like the still injured but now freed mountain lion away from Sophia and Marcus, yet Marcus also constantly made sure to utterly destroy any evidence of there having been gems, treasure, crevices or caves anywhere he went as well as make his surroundings more dangerous.
Helena, Cheren and Carmelita had definitely not liked this and had been clustered to Bentley's monitors the entire time it took the master and their parents to clear out all of the treasure and while the Master ended it all by completely emptying the cave where it all began, did he then use his powers for an overextended amount of time.
And this was because he hid all of the gems and treasure with his concealing powers for an entire flight and train ride, the flight taking them from the Himalaya to the south of Paris and the train ride taking them to the other side of town, where I happily picked them up with my van and then took a detour to the Hideout.
This all took two days, yet after that – for some strange reason – did Marcus and Sophia lock themselves into Sly's room with our leader and while part of me felt relieved as Sly hadn't left his room since arrival, do I also wonder what they could know that could do what we could not; have Sly leave his room.
And by now, four days later, am I starting to wonder if they even can as they didn't come down even once after spending some time with their kids to alleviate the others' worries and then locking themselves up in Sly's room, yet then something happens that takes all of my attention and worry away from my leader.
"We interrupt this live performance of the finale of the Voice of France to bring you this important news update. Famous Politician Edward Illegard has had a near fatal accident during his attempt to, once again, reveal the mountain cave that had been rumored to have been uncovered a little under a month ago now.
Mr. Illegard had been trying all sorts of methods to find the cave, yet when he had believed to have found the entrance, did it lead to a second cave in that nearly killed the poor man and caused him to become injured to the chest through a falling bit of rock that broke and fractured several bones in his upper chest area.
Mr. Illegard is currently in the finest, private Hospital of Kathmandu and his assistant has already met with the leader of Nepalese President, the Minister of Culture and the Worldwide Nature Foundation and both have agreed to mark this bit of mountain area in the Himalaya as unsafe and forbidden from tourists and citizens alike.
Mr. Illegard has been stated not to be in any critical condition, yet the doctors treating him have confirmed that, due to his bad health, he will probably miss next month's election due to his current comatose state and the healing procedure he will have to go through once he wakes up. We will report back with more news as it comes."
And while this shocks us, do I then mutter: "Gosh Master, maybe you and Marcus worked a little too well on clearing that area." Yet instead of the master, does a very familiar and well-missed voice speak up and say: "At least now we can be sure that no one who doesn't have our experience will try and reach that dangerous place anymore."
And when we look up, do we see Sly, who looks better than I expected for not having been out of his room for over a week, but then I see how his fur is slightly dripping and while I feel stupid for not having heard the shower running, does Carmelita launch herself at her beloved while Bently smiles at Marcus and Sophia and asks:
"Finally got him convinced of his innocence, did you?" And again I feel like I am missing something major before something happens that utterly shocks me. After breaking her kiss, does Carmelita whisper two words that cause a silence unlike any other – even the one in the boutique so long ago – to ring through us all:
"Marry me." Bentley's mouth drops and so do the mouths of Marcus and Sophia, while the statement leaves Cheren, Helena, the master and me wide eyed and then Carmelita makes it worse as she says: "I am not spending another day not by your side. Marry me or by my raging instincts I will claim you as mine, Sly Cooper."
And this seems to clear up Sly's shock, yet his response is definitely not what I had expected as he and Marcus actually burst out laughing, shocking us all before Sophia says: "As traditional as your new husband is, you really are not, are you dear?" Yet while this confuses me, does Carmelita get shocked and asks:
"Wait, traditional? Husband?" And while I wonder if she really meant her stated proposal or if it were just her hormones, does Marcus stop laughing and say: "That is what took us the whole week. We were both busy convincing Sly he didn't cause our accident and setting up an agreement for you to be wed officially.
And before you start, dear, the agreement wasn't because Sly is so traditional, it was so that no cops or Interpol could try and stop the wedding. These are contracts that any Auditor would pay several vaults to get their hands on and that's why we have been so busy this week setting them up. Though we really didn't expect this response."
And with that Sly almost hisses: "Not that I care really." And the kiss that he then plunges onto Carmelita's lips silences any possible yelp she could have uttered and makes even Marcus and Sophia turn around in slight embarrassment as it is more than obvious that it wasn't just Carmelita who had been dealing with raging hormones.
"You will be mine tonight. And you will be my bride, my gorgeous." Sly states and while I can barely believe that he is practically commanding Carmelita to marry him, does the girl herself seem not to care even a bit as she instead starts to smirk, starts to actually caress Sly's tail and hiss back: "As long as you're only mine, Ringtail."
And with that do I think: "Are those two even going to make it to the wedding night?" Yet while just looking at them makes me know that that is definitely not going to be the case, do I then decide to join in on the romantic fun as I ask: "Hey Helena, would you care being my date to the wedding?" Shocking the girl senseless.
And there we go.
Okay, I am going to need YOUR OPINION HERE! In my eyes, I wrapped up this story just fine and the only thing we might go over in the epilogue would be the wedding, maybe a bit of Murray-Helena romance and a way for Urmilla to fit into it all, which will probably be through the wedding as well.
I don't really see any other loose ends and I'm not even sure if such topics will even make for a proper chapter. Personally I find that I have left the story just fine, even though I might add a bit of summary of the wedding later, though I sincerely doubt that. So, if you think the story is incomplete, LET ME KNOW!
Thanks in advance,
Venquine1990
PS. Credits to this story go to Kitty Petro.
PPS. Yes, everything the Guru uttered was utter gibberish. I just typed in random letters and went with it. Sue me.
