~Location: Rural City - Egypt~
~Date/Time: 1300 B.C., Operation Golden Ticket: Day 1; Evening~
"So... How do you want to start?" The older raccoon asked, adjusting his pseudo-son's robes so that they fitted him more naturally.
"I have... no clue at all. Do you have any ideas?" The younger raccoon was at a disadvantage; one of his best friends and brother was the plan-maker of the team. According to his ancestor; stealing something was a very serious crime. The fact that both of them were on a proverbial 'Most Wanted' list meant that being captured preceded a death sentence. Sly knew they had to steal something... certainly something from Pharaoh would do the trick, but what?
"Well, come on future boy... You know how it's done. You've read it."
"Yeah, but I recall your entry being vague or misleading."
Slytunkhamen stopped, ears perking in the hint of an idea. "What about your entry?"
"I told you, I haven't written it yet."
"My boy... Don't you understand? You are my son, Slytunkhamen the Third. You write your entry after mine."
Sly's own ears perked. eyes lighting up at such a simple but effective idea. "Hey... You're right... I'm your son, so... My entry is in his place!"
"Your copy of our journal, where is it now?"
"My friends are keeping it safe."
"Wait right here." Slytunkhamen walked off, returning with the first few pages of the Thievius Raccoonus. There was something more written now, Sly assumed it to be Slytunkhamen's entry. "Now... You write your message."
"Wait, now? Um... Two problems."
"Go on..."
"I'll need you to be my writer-er... scribe. I don't remember reading this post in my language."
"That's fair. What else?"
"Give me a little time... I want to figure out what I should say."
"Might I... make a suggestion that you might not like? Write a farewell to your friends. If your plan- whatever it's going to be- fails, you won't have another chance to say goodbye."
"Ah... I... understand."
"I'll leave you some time. Come get me when you need it written."
Sly took half of the evening composing a final goodbye to his friends and loved ones. Slytunkhamen translated it into calligraphy without question, knowing his son was practically writing his own eulogy. When they had finished, Sly sighed heavily and turned to his ancestor.
"Your entry..."
"...Is for you, my son, to read when you return home."
"Son?" Sly asked, tearing up now.
"I don't know what else to-" The elder raccoon couldn't finish before the younger embraced him in a warm hug. When they separated, Sly backed up and noticed something about his ancestor that he hadn't before.
"Where's your um... hat-thing?" Sly questioned, gesturing with his hands in the shape and size of a large cone on his own head."
"A... crown? I don't own one, but Pharaoh does. Wait... Are you saying that... No..."
"You know exactly what I'm saying. That's what we steal."
"But to steal Pharaoh's crown?! You want to steal the symbol of his divine rule and power?! Sounds fun."
"Wait, what?"
"I get to keep it, after all."
"I still need something to lead my friends here..."
"True... What if I took care of that in exchange for keeping the crown?"
"Say again?"
"Craft yourself a sack to carry your winnings and I can provide anything that you would need."
"Alright... Deal."
"Very good! Now... How do you intend to do it?"
"I still don't know yet..."
A voice called out at that moment that made both of them freeze in place. Sly had never heard the voice before, but it sent a chill up his spine. Before he knew it, he was hurried by Slytunkhamen into a small hidden room. "Ausar... He's early... You need to wait here. He knows that I don't really have a son. Just stay quiet..."
Sly nodded, his ancestor returning the hug before wandering off. Sly heard that voice again as well as his ancestor's voice. They were discussing some sort of business.
"...What do you have to show me, trap-maker?"
"I... have nothing new made yet...Ausar. Why are you requesting when no announcement has been made?"
The other went silent for a moment. "Pharaoh is expected to pass. He is no god. Preparations should be made in advance. Show me what you have now."
"Y-Yes. Understood."
Sly saw his ancestor first, followed by his business partner. Peering from a slightly-ajar door, he saw what Ausar was. Ausar was a large owl with brown feathers all around his body. The avian was clothed in an amount of jewels that could not be described as miniscule. Sly glimpsed at the owl's solemn expression before his heart and stomach knotted in his chest. Oh... he'd seen that beaked face before... He knew that now. He knew exactly where he first saw the owl and was reintroduced to the traumatizing scene.
It was years ago, but he still remembered everything. The Fiendish Five had just overpowered his father and discovered the Cooper family secret. He remembered running out to stop them as a little boy, tears in his eyes. One of the members of the quintet had a mechanical and soulless stare in his eyes and the mere sight of it struck a deep instinct of fear into the young raccoon's heart. Before the two could lock eyes directly, Sly's own father blocked the path, allowing the helpless raccoon cub to seek shelter in a cupboard. It was a horrific sight to watch one's own father take a heavy beating against five-to-one odds. The young raccoon couldn't look away as one of the gang members acted swiftly and dealt the final and fatal blow. Now with his father's motionless corpse between them, nothing prevented Sly and the killer from looking at each other in the eyes. That stare haunted his childhood and never left his mind even after the victors had retreated with their winnings.
That's the face he saw... Right outside a small little door. Sly felt exposed again, cowering like he did all those years ago. He stayed locked in place like this, hearing nothing else of the conversation evolving before him.
Sly came back to reality- his ancestor now in the little room with him knelt beside Sly and shaking him with moderate force.
"That look on your face... My father had that look... Can you tell me what you saw?"
"That owl... He... killed my father..."
"Your father? He couldn't have."
"You just said your father had the same look? Did he mention a shadow hovering above his head? Watching and silently following him in the night sky?"
"Y-Yes... He did mention that. He even mentions it in his article of our book."
"That shadow haunts the rest of us Coopers... He haunted me... but I..."
"You what?"
"I destroyed him. He doesn't exist now... but... he's..."
"Ausar... He's Ausar now. My father couldn't make the connection... Ausar is Pharaoh's vizier, overseeing daily tasks and presenting them to Pharaoh."
"What was he here for?"
"Traps for Pharaoh's tomb. Ausar is convinced that he will die soon."
"Whatever we decide upon... We need to do something about him. We can make it so he never exists to the Cooper lineage."
"Ausar was appointed by Pharaoh and guards over his life. If we're gonna get close to Pharaoh, then we need to handle his vizier first."
"And he just gave me an idea..."
"Oh? What would that be?"
"Assassinating the Pharaoh himself and blaming Ausar."
Sly explained what he had in mind before his ancestor went ballistic. Once the real plan was determined and agreed upon, Slytunkhamen had little trouble with it.
"Great! Sleep on it?"
"Sounds pleasant."