I hope you like this chapter.

Sly 4: The Nightmare of Thieves

Chapter 7

With Sly

Sly stared out the window of the van. He saw many of the places that he used to go to when the gang was here in India. Rajan was selling spices at the time.

The buildings and palaces were in the distance as Murray drove into the jungle. Sly felt a tingle go up his spine when he remember how Neyla made him believe that she was his friend and then betrayed him. She betrayed him and the Contessa had captured him and Murray. Sly was still angry about that, but he was grateful that Bentley had saved him. Bentley got more respect after that.

"We're here," Bentley said as he looked out the back window.

Sly looked out the window and saw the old hideout.

It was still there, just as it was when they left it.

Murray parked in the space that was for the van and the gang got out. Murray had to pick Penelope and Bentley up and carry them to the safe house. Panda King let the Guru jump on his back and the two climbed up. Sly had it the easier way. All he had to do was jump onto branches of trees and flip through the air. Even though it had been three years since he had done anything that had to do with the gang or being a thief, he still remembered what he had learned over the years.

Sly landed and saw that the gang was waiting for him. Sly smiled at his friends.

Bentley rolled his eyes but smiled. Murray gave him a thumbs up.

They all went into the safe house and looked. It was dirty but that wouldn't be a problem, but there was a problem, there wasn't enough room for the huge gang that they had now. Before it had only been Bentley, Sly, and Murray. When they were planning, Bentley hadn't been thinking about how small the safe house was, he was only thinking about getting Sly somewhere safe, somewhere Jade couldn't find him or the gang.

"Um… Bentley, the gang isn't going to fit in here," Murray said then looked at the turtle and saw that Bentley already knew that.

"I guess we'll wait for everyone to get here and we'll figure out where we'll go," Sly said.

"But we are still going to clean this place up. I don't want to wait for them in this dirty place," Penelope said looking around the safe house.

Bentley agreed and then began cleaning up the old safe house.

Murray and Panda King were told to take all of the heavy things outside so that they could clean easier. Sly had to take all of the rugs out of the safe house and shake them off (Sly really didn't enjoy getting covered in dust). Penelope and the Guru scrubbed the floors. Bentley dusted the low places and Sly dusted the high places.

Soon they were done and Murray and Panda King went outside and brought everything inside. Sly got the rugs, but he decided they didn't need them. He put them in the closet. Everyone sat down and waited for Leo and the others to get to the safe house.

Sly decided to go outside to wait. He was tired of sitting around the safe house.

"Be careful, Sly," Bentley told the raccoon.

"I always am."

Bentley rolled his eyes, knowing that Sly wasn't always careful, but Bentley let Sly go. He could tell that Sly needed to think.

Sly sat on a tree that was close to the safe house, but far enough that no one could see or hear him.

Sly was thinking of Carmelita.

He was in pain thinking about how she must feel. Sly knew that she felt betrayed because he lied to her. She probably figured out that he never really lost his memory. She was probably looking for him now and then she would also be in danger.

Sly looked up at the sunset and then sighed.

He knew that Carmelita was hurt and it hurt him even more.

Why did Jade want to kill him? Leo was right, Sly, Bentley, and Murray didn't kill Neyla. She died on her own. Neyla should've never taken the parts of Clockwerk.

Sly stood up, he didn't want to think about anything right now. He just wanted to sleep.

He went back to the safe house and went inside. When he got inside, Murray was on the couch sleeping, Bentley and Penelope were sitting at the table talking about something that Sly didn't understand. Panda King and the Guru were meditating. Sly decided that he would just go to his old room and sleep until the rest of the gang got there. He told Bentley to wake him up when everybody got to the safe house.

Sly went to his old room and felt relaxed. He fell onto the bed in the corner after closing the door. He sighed then took his shoes off then laid on the bed, facing the ceiling. Sly held the Cooper cane over his head then looked at it. Sly smiled to himself and was somewhat glad that it was in his hands again.

Sly's mind drifted to the good old days with the Cooper Gang, then to the days in the orphanage with Bentley, Murray, and Leo. Back then Leo would play jokes on Sly and the other two, making the three of them think Leo was one of the mean kids, but then they came to find out that Leo was alone. Nobody wanted to be his friend.

Flashback- 21 years ago-

Sly walked over to the playground with all of the other kids, and heard someone crying. Sly looked around and saw that none of the other kids were crying. Sly looked around again and spot a black cat in a tree. When the raccoon got closer, he realized it was Leonardo Sanders.

Sly didn't really liked Leo, but wanted to know why he was crying.

The seven year old raccoon walked over to the tree and climbed it.

"Hey," Sly said, making the panther jump.

The panther looked up at Sly with watery green eyes. Then when Leo realized it was Sly he quickly wiped his eyes then glared.

"What do you want, Cooper?" he asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I saw you crying and wanted to know if you were alright," Sly said, standing up, looking down at Leo. "So you don't have to be so mean. You know if you were nicer, you would probably have more friends."

Sly watched as Leo's eyes began to water again, then felt bad for what he said.

"Hey don't cry again, I didn't mean to say that."

Leo covered his eyes with his arm and then wiped his tears away, "I don't have any friends."

Sly felt even worse.

"You can play with me, Murray, and Bentley!"

Leo looked at the raccoon like he was crazy, "But… I'm mean to you guys."

"Then be nicer to us, and then we'll be your friends."

"R-really?"

"Sure," Sly said grinning. "Come on!"

Sly grabbed the panther's arm and they jumped out of the tree. Leo looked at Sly then smiled slightly.

"Thanks."

Sly turned to the panther, "Welcome. Now let's go find them!"

"Okay!" Leo said, grinning.

Flashback end-

Sly smiled at the memory. Leo and Sly had been friends from that day and forward, until Clara died. Sly hated knowing that her death had ripped their friendship apart. Leo and Sly had been through a lot when they were children, that's why they were so much alike.

Sly remembered when Leo told him about his past and Sly never looked at Leo as a friend again afterward, he looked at Leo as a brother.

Leo had been abandoned by his real parents because they didn't want two children. Leo had a twin brother named Cloud, and their parents decided to leave Leo on the doorstep of a foster home.

Leo was adopted when he was two by Officer Sanders and his wife. Leo had been a happy child until Officer Sanders was killed by a criminal. Mrs. Sanders was depressed and stopped taking care of Leo. Leo had to fend for himself, until Mrs. Sanders got in a relationship with a man named Jack. Jack was a pit-bull with dark eyes and dark hair. Leo didn't like Jack at all. Jack would yell at Leo when Mrs. Sanders wasn't around. He would call Leo names and threaten to hurt Leo if he told Mrs. Sanders about Jack's temper. Leo kept his mouth shut and acted like he liked Jack. Soon after Jack and Mrs. Sanders got engaged and then Leo started getting scared about Jack being his father. The young panther told Mrs. Sanders about Jack being mean to him. Mrs. Sanders talked to Jack that night and then Jack's temper got the better of him. Jack almost killed Mrs. Sanders then went up to Leo's room.

When Leo told Sly about Jack beating him and then trying to kill him, Sly saw Leo's sadness. Sly had never seen Leo look so sad. Then Leo told Sly that he had to stay in the hospital for almost two months. Mrs. Sanders didn't make it, she died on the way to the hospital, leaving Leo to the hospital's care. The hospital contacted Happy Camper Orphanage and then Leo was brought to the orphanage. Leo didn't talk to any of the children in the orphanage, he just kept to himself.

Soon after Leo arrived in the orphanage, he began to get better and began talking more. But he never became friends with any of the other kids, because his scars from Jack beating him were "scary and disturbing". The other kids didn't like looking at Leo, so he was forced to wear long sleeved shirts to hide them. That was when Leo began to be the orphanage bully. He had to pretend to be mean so the other kids would "respect" him.

Sly shook his head, not wanting to think about Leo telling Sly his past anymore.

Sly rolled over and looked at the wall. He closed his eyes then drifted off to sleep.

At the enemy safe house

"Everything is ready," Dalton said walking into the meeting room, where Jade was sitting at the table with her head in her hands.

Jade raised her head and then smiled evilly, "Great. Where's Chad?"

"Right here," said a deep voice from behind Dalton.

Chad Peters stepped out of the shadows, his dark blue eyes shown with excitement, and smirked, "The trap is set. And I've already tracked Leo down, thanks to my spy."

Jade stood up and then smiled. She bought her hands behind her back and walked to the window, "This is great, I will finally capture him. Now lead him here, I want to end Leonardo once and for all."

Jade's heart sank at her words. She was still in love with Leo. Would she really kill him?

If killing him is the only way to stop him, I will kill him, she thought to herself.

Chad smirked at her words and Dalton didn't react.

The three left the room.

It was empty in the enemy safe house. Jade had sent everyone away to different places in the world. James and his wife, Emma were still packing for Spain, Galen and Hanna were going to London, England. Kayla and her brother, Kyle were going to Berlin Germany. Dalton and Robert were going to Moscow Russia after they were done killing Leo. Then Jade and Chad were going to Cairo, Egypt.

Jade followed Chad outside with Dalton behind her. Robert was standing on the rooftop and then waved slightly. Jade smiled then Chad turned to Dalton.

"Go up there and wait for my signal," Chad ordered.

The bear nodded then went up the roof. Chad looked at Jade then smiled.

"All you have to do is sit inside and watch."

"What are you going to do?"

"I'm gonna make sure Leo follows me into the trap were made for him. What a reunion that'll be," Chad grinned.

Jade nodded then went inside.

She didn't really enjoy working with Chad. He was to commanding towards her and the others. She could see why Leo hated him.

Chad watched the lioness leave then he turned and looked at the tracker in his hand and saw the blinking red dot moving towards the jungle. Chad would have to hurry to catch up with Leo.

Chad started his bike and then pressed the gas and left the safe house. He followed the dot by taking a short cut.

The dot stopped moving and Chad knew that the car had broken down, just like he planned.

With Leo's group

The truck stopped suddenly.

Jake and Leo got out and then lifted the hood of the truck. Jake found that the battery was dead.

"Huh? That's weird, when we got the truck yesterday, the battery was just fine," Jake said and then looked at Leo to ask him something then he saw that Leo was staring at something on the other side of the street. Then his eyes darkened.

"Get everyone out of the truck and then run. Don't look back, you guys need to get to the safe house," Leo said quietly. "Do not come after me."

"Leo what are you talking about?" Jake asked then followed Leo's gaze and froze.

There was a man standing across the street, staring at Leo with a smirk on his lips. The man's dark blue eyes had an evil glint deep in them. The man was tall with black fur.

Chad Peters.

"Leo, no."

"He will pay for what he did," Leo said between clutched teeth.

Leo started walking toward Chad, but Jake grabbed his arm.

"No, Leo," Jake said.

Leo turned to the wolf and glared at him. Jake stared at his best friend, not flinching.

"If I don't kill him, he will hurt more people. I have to stop him," Leo said then broke away from Jake's grip. "Get them out of the truck and head toward the safe house. The map is on the glove department."

"Leo… be careful," Jake said, realizing that Leo wasn't changing his mind.

Leo nodded then grabbed his swords, sticking them in his belt. He also grabbed his crossbow, strapping it to his back.

"Take my stuff with you," Leo said, throwing his bag to the gray wolf.

Jake nodded then watched Chad disappear and Leo ran after him.

Jake opened got in the truck and looked at the group.

"We're going to have to walk to the safe house."

Jake leaned over Abby, ignoring his cheeks warming up, and got the map that Leo was talking about. He and Abby got out of the truck and looked at the map. There was a trail, not far from where they were, that led to the safe house.

"We'll we better start before someone notices us," Jake said grabbing Riley and Annie's bags and handed them to the foxes. Dimitri grabbed his bag and then the group headed into the trees.

With Leo

Leo regretted leaving his friends, but he knew Jake would protect them, deep in his mind. But for the moment, his mind was controlled by rage. Chad had murdered the girl Leo had fallen in love with, right before his eyes. Leo had searched for Chad for ten years and now, he'd found him.

Chad was running away from Leo and Leo was on his tail. Leo had his crossbow raised so that he was ready to shoot if he had to. Chad looked back and then turned around a corner. It was a dead end.

Chad turned and then smiled at Leo.

"Hello Leo."

Leo nodded.

"Aw, come on Leo. Don't be an emotionless freak."

Leo's eyes darkened, "I would if you gave her life back, but you can't. You murdered her."

Chad smirked, "No I can't, so get over it."

Leo's teeth grinded together in frustration and he raised the crossbow in his hands.

Chad just smirked and raised his hands.

"You're really going to shoot?"

"Yes," Leo said and then aimed.

"Aw come on. You don't have the strength to do it. Besides, aren't you a swordsman? The world's greatest I hear?"

Leo's mouth twitched, "I'm not wasting my skill on a bastard like you. Say goodbye, Chad."

"Oh, I'll say goodbye all right."

Chad looked up and then gave a thumbs up. Leo looked up and moved, but it was too late.

Dalton shot him with a sleeping dart and then Leo fell to his knees. He dropped the crossbow and his vision blurred. He felt someone grab him and everything went black.

With the Gang - two hours later

Bentley began to worry when the sun went down and Leo's group still wasn't at the safe house.

Maybe they got captured… or maybe they got stuck in mud. What if something really bad happened? Should I call and see if everything is alright? Aw, what should I do? Bentley thought to himself.

Bentley decided to call Leo's group and make sure that they were okay.

Bentley called Dimitri.

"Dimitri? You there?"

It wasn't Dimitri's face that came onto the small scene, it was Jake's.

"Oh, hey Bentley, he's here, but not conscious."

"What happened?"

"He passed out. We have been walking for almost three hours now."

"Why?"

"The truck broke down," Jake shrugged.

"Where's Leo?" Bentley asked.

Jake's face fell and Bentley knew something was wrong.

"Jake?"

"I couldn't stop him! He left."

Bentley felt his heart drop.

Leo left again?

"Why did he leave?" Bentley asked wanting an explanation.

"He ran after Chad. I tried to stop him, but he didn't listen. When we get there, I'm going back to get him."

Bentley smiled at the wolf.

"Just hurry and get here. I don't think the jungle is safe at night."

"Don't worry Bent; we'll be there any minute now."

And then Jake hung up.

Bentley sighed then looked at the Gang. Murray and the Guru were talking on the couch and Penelope was on her laptop. Panda King was going through his fireworks and Sly was still sleeping in his old room.

The turtle sighed then rolled over to his girlfriend and explained why the others still weren't here.

"What do you mean Leo left again?" Sly asked from behind Bentley, make him almost jump out of his shell.

Bentley turned to the raccoon and sighed.

"Leo saw Chad and ran after him."

Sly's amber eyes went angry.

"I knew that we should've trusted him!" Sly shouted making Panda King, the Guru, and Murray look at him. "I knew that something like this would happen! But I just went by your judgment!"

Bentley looked at the raccoon with shock written all over his face. Sly had never yelled at Bentley and he had never yelled at Sly.

"I knew that Leo couldn't be trusted!" Sly shouted again, not realizing that the others had gotten to the safe house.

"Well what would you do I you saw the man that murdered the woman you loved?" Riley asked and Sly turned to the young artic fox.

"I- I don't know."

"Then don't judge Leo like that!" Riley shouted, his blue eyes darkening, "Leo has never been happy since Chad murdered Clara and he probably never will be."

"Jake tried to stop him, Sly," Annie said.

"We'll so did I but Leo still left!" Sly said loudly.

Pain flashed through Annie's eyes.

"I know."

"Then don't-"

"Guys stop it!" Abby said stepping between the raccoon and the foxes, "This really isn't the time to be fighting."

"We need to find where Leo is and bring him back," Jake said, setting an unconscious Dimitri on the couch.

"Like that will help," Sly said, receiving a glare from Riley.

Jake put a map on the table and then pointed to it. Bentley rolled toward the table and saw the Jake was pointing at an old prison circled with black marker.

"I think that this is where Jade Edwards is hiding."

"What does that have to do with Leo?" Sly asked.

"Jake is saying that maybe Chad is working with Jade. Chad might have led Leo here," Abby said.

Sly thought through it.

"Maybe you're right, but let's say your weren't. What if that is where Jade is hiding, but Leo isn't there, Jade would catch me and then this would be over," the raccoon said looking at Abby.

"You won't go," Riley said, "Jake and I can go."

"No Riley, I'm going by myself," Jake argued.

"But-"

"Jake's right," Abby said, "It will be too dangerous. Jake will need some more muscle for this."

"I'll go," Murray said.

"But Jade wants to kill you too," Jake pointed out.

The hippo thought about it then realized that Jake was right.

"I'll go," Panda King said, standing up.

Jake looked at the Panda and then said, "Okay, I guess. We may need fireworks for this job."

Panda King put his hands together and bowed.

"You guys will have to wait till morning," Bentley said, being the worry wart he was, "The jungle is scary at night," Bentley said remembering his last experience in this jungle.

Jake and Panda King agreed, seeing Bentley's wide, worried, eyes.

"We'll leave right when the sun comes up," Panda King said.

Jake agreed, "Anything to get a friend back."

The gang agreed then Bentley got everything that Panda King and Jake would need for their mission.