Ziggy's Corner: You guys aren't going to believe this; you're tied for silver metal now! From going from having the gold for a brief couple of minutes to nearly being pushed to bronze! Oh well, I love all my fans equally, Lol. So are you ready for the beginning of the fight? This chapter is going to be a short one too, and the fight is kind of just a passing of words before the action gets going in chapter nineteen, but I hope it's good anyway. I couldn't just end this submission month with seventeen and Gabriel about to get his hand cut off, that would drive most of you, especially Heiduska, nuts! Okay so on with the story!

The blade swooshed down to the boy's hand, the little fox clenching his eyes and bracing himself for the white hot pain that was going to flush through his whole body, when the two of them heard a thump from behind and the twirl of something in the air. Gabriel swallowed and turned to look behind just a few seconds before Goren, and felt his lips spread into a smile.

"G'day there," a feminine voice said behind the hyena. "Ever thing that maybe you should start picking of people who are the same size as you?"

"What?" Doctor Goren turned with lightning speed and reached out with his paw to grabbed the numbat, but as quick as he was, the female master thief was faster. With a twirl of her twin Katana blades, she grabbed him by his belt buckle, and hoisted him up in the air down on the floor, his skull making a sickening cracking sound. Not to be too overconfident of her victory, she preformed a spinning round house kick and sent the doctor's body skating across the floor, to a few tables across the room.

The female master thief leapt into the air and swung herself across the room using a balance beam on the ceiling, and landed by the tables. With a few flashes of movement, her hands quickly made wooden and steel bars in which to hold the mad doctor, and then turned to the boy.

"And you would be Christian or Gabriel?" she asked.

At first the boy could do nothing but stare at this thief, amazed by her prowess and agility. When Sly had fought the hyena at his headquarters, he had had a difficult time in keeping up with him, but here, this thief had managed to defeat the doctor in less than a minute. "Wow," he muttered.

"Odd, I had no idea that there was a brother named, 'Wow'," Morgan Skye said with a slim grin on her face. She walked up to the boy and looked him over, just to make sure he was okay. "Where are your sisters? Where's Sly?"

He snapped back to reality as he heard those words and names, and looked down at the poison he still held in his little hand. "Sly was poisoned; he's dying in a cell they kept us in!" He saw the shock and worry in her face. When she asked if he remembered where they had been kept, he couldn't remember, at first.

Then that same feeling of strength filled him, and he nearly seemed to glow. "Wait," he said, his voice echoing softly. Thoughts and visions crossed his eyes and he blinked. "I remember."

Morgan Skye grabbed the boy and lifted him onto her shoulders. She could tell he was amazed by her speed and strength, and she smiled. "Then hold on tight, because as you have seen, I'm very fast. Just point the way and I'll get us there."

S L Y

Bentley and Rose Marie had just finished going over the plans to break into the fortress when they heard a knock at the door of the van. The turtle edged over to it slowly and looked at the beautiful creature still sitting at the table. She nodded her head and he smiled, slowly going into la la land again.

Rose Marie nodded a second time, and seeing him slip into a goofy position just giggled and made a motion with her hands as if she was turning a door knob. "You do remember how to do that, right?"

Bentley shook himself from his stupor and opened the door, yelping out so loud that the female turtle leapt to her feet and reached for something in her purse when she realized that Bentley was showing signs of joy. He stepped back and a weary but physically okay hippo and a small fox cub walked into the van.

"Where the heck have you two been?" Bentley reproached, shaking his finger at Murray. "Do you have any idea how worried sick I've been!"

"It looks like you've been dealing pretty well," Murray said with a deep chuckle. He motioned to Rose Marie and smiled. "Whose your girlfriend?"

"She's not my girlfriend," Bentley protested a little too loudly and quickly. Fearing that he might have insulted her he turned to look at her reaction and she giggled.

"I think just knowing one another for a couple of hours isn't enough to constitute the title of 'boyfriend/girlfriend'. Although it might with the title of just 'friend'." She held out her hand and shook the hippo's hand and introduced herself. When she reached for the fox's hand, the boy looked a little skittish and was reluctant. He only agreed to take it when they encouraged him not to be shy.

Then they all sat down and shared notes, going over everything that had transpired in the last couple of hours. "This is amazing," Bentley said when he had finished hearing Christian and Murray's story. And a bit complexing too. I mean here we thought that Charlie the Great was the ultimate villain and now there could be something else out there?"

"I don't know about that," Rose Marie said. "I find that there's not much that's claimed to be 'supernatural' that can't be explained by science. As far as we should be concerned, Charlie the Great is the villain of the story."

"None the less, I have a job to do," Christian said. "Gabriel has already started his part, and now I have to begin mine." He looked up at Murray who shook his head.

"Don't be in such a rush," he chided. "That's what the lesson of the valley was about." He could feel Bentley look at him as if he was weird, and he knew the turtle half expected the boy to respond, 'Yes, Master'. "Let's just listen to them for a moment, we didn't have a plan, they were almost finished coming up with one, perhaps this is meant to be."

"I suppose you are right, but this really doesn't feel right," the boy said. Still when it came to his sisters and his brothers, he wasn't going to let anything mess up their safety.

S L Y

Just as she said, it didn't take them long to get to the cell, bust if open and get to a very graying Sly. Morgan ignored Carmelita's eyes as she walked to the raccoon and bent down to him to investigate how serious the problem was. He was barely breathing, sweating all over and she feared his heart was going to go into cardiac arrest at any minute. "It says he has to swallow the anti-venom," she said reading the bottle.

"In case you haven't noticed, he can barely breathe, how is he supposed to swallow the cure?" Carmelita snapped. She took a step back as Morgan smirked.

"He'll need help," she said with a chuckle. She opened the bottle and put it to her lips.

"Whoa, hold on!" the Interpol officer snapped, grabbing the thief's arm. "What do you think you are doing?"

"What does it look like?" she asked. "If we try to pour it down his throat, he could choke to death. We need someone to trickle it down his throat, while someone strokes his throat to make him swallow."

"Okay, that's just gross," Gabriel groaned. Elisa playfully slapped her brother in the back of his head so hard he saw stars. "Well it is. I mean how many times is he going to get kissed tonight?"

"If anyone is going to do this, it's going to be me," Carmelita snapped, reaching for the antidote.

"We don't have time to argue, and I have the antidote," Morgan protested, pulling it away.

"Great now their going to fight to see who gets to kiss him," the boy sighed. Again his sister slapped his head.

"You took him from me, I just want one last chance to be with him," Morgan said.

"Excuse me, I took him from you? I don't know what you're talking about. I don't want him."

"Liar," both the thief and her older sister quipped.

"Okay, I want him, but behind bars," Carmelita snapped.

"Oh this is stupid," Elisa groaned, watching Sly's condition worsen with the second. She reached over and snatched the poison from Morgan's hand, and thrust it into Carmelita's. "You," she said pointing at Morgan, "get a grip, remember what you had and be happy. And you," she snarled looking at her sister, "stop struggling with your emotions and just kiss the poor fool before he keels over."

"But," Carmelita began.

"Carmelita Montoya Fox I swear to you that if I don't see any action right now, I'm throwing that bottle down your throat and forcing your lips onto his, now which is it going to be?"

Neither woman liked it, but they knew that to keep fighting was to sign Sly's death warrant. Morgan took her position, and Carmelita poured the liquid into her mouth, ignoring the strong fiery taste attacking her tongue, and swooped down on Sly in a way that she had always wanted to, in a way she only did in her dreams.

Their lips met, and she nearly forgot she had the anti-venom in her mouth. Slowly her lips parted, and the liquid rushed from her mouth to his. She could feel his breath enter her mouth, warm but slowly cooling. Her heart beat against her chest as she held him tight, her eyes closed her eyes folded down to ignore Gabriel's grossing out. Carmelita could feel the liquid in his mouth, quickly turning to gluey honey like stickiness, and she panicked. They'd left it out in the open for too long. If it was going to do any good, she was going to have to force it down his throat. Her tongue lashed out and she gently pushed it to the back of his throat, feeling it slowly slip down.

She held him for what seemed like an eternity that way. She was aware that Morgan was stroking his throat, but she was ignoring the best that she could with that too. For now, her and Sly's souls were united, purifying his body from the venom that threatened to kill him. In her mind she called out to him, begging him not to go to stay and fight. Her kiss became their kiss as she could feel strength begin to flow back in him, as if he was filling her back with her spirit seven fold. His arms wrapped around her body, she felt them and he held her, returning his kiss with more strength and such passion that Carmelita felt that her body was going to explode in flames. Finally she pulled away, her eyes wide.

Sly looked up at her and smiled his roguish grin. "Detective Fox, I didn't know you cared so much," he said. His voice was strong, even stronger than what it had been before. He figured that she would rush at him and kick him, or come up with a snide remark, but all she could do was cry, shaking her locks back and forth.

"Thank God," she cried. She reached for him and collapsed, holding him tight. "Oh thank God."

Sly frowned, and then smiled serenely, stroking her long hair and holding her for a good while. When they released Sly rose to his feet and looked over at Morgan, whispering the words, 'thank you'. Tears were in her eyes too, for many reasons. She sighed, handing him his cane and nodded.

"Now if you will excuse me, I think it's time I visit a certain large, meat eating fish, and finish this business."

"Not alone you won't," Carmelita snarled. She reached over and took hold of his hand, holding it tight. "I want his blood too, after everything he put me through."

Elisa knew better than try to stop her sister when she was this determined. "Fine, please be careful then." She turned to her brother and nodded. "I'll get him out of here, and alert the police in Australia."

"I've already done that, but I'll help you get the child to safety," Morgan Skye said. She turned to Sly and sighed. "Be careful Falcon. Take care of yourself," she lightly kissed his lips and turned to Carmelita. "And you take care of him too."

The Interpol officer smiled and nodded, holding Sly's hand tighter. "Don't concern yourself with that."

S L Y

They reached the inner sanctum of Sharks lair, and stopped as bright lights switched on. They soon realized that they were right in the middle of the aquarium. The two of them looked at each other, squeezed each other's hands and pulled apart, raising their weapons, looking for the enemy.

"What a touching scene," a strong voice boomed. They looked down at their feet and saw Charlie the Great, his metallic teeth gnashing together as he looked up at them. "Love birds at last," he chuckled. "I don't suppose anyone ever told you that that happens to be one of my favorite dishes."

"Too bad you're not going to get a chance to enjoy the meals you've been so used to anymore," Sly said, tapping his cane on his arm.

"Where you are going, the food isn't so unique and gourmet," Carmelita snapped, pointing her gun at the floor.

"I wouldn't do that, detective, look where you two are. Standing over an aquarium, and what kind of weapon do you have? An electric shock pistol? I didn't know you wanted to take me down so bad that you were willing to go with me." He chuckled and rushed upward, breaking the glass underneath their feet. They jumped at the attack, but didn't flee. "I expected this," the shark said. "I've had Nyoko begin to operate my little toy, and look at where its being aimed at," he chuckled as a screen lowered down, and Sly and Carmelita could see the capital of Australia on it.

"You can't!" Carmelita shrieked.

"You really are mad," Sly growled.

"And you are in a very sensitive position, aren't you? Stay and fight me, and you may end up victorious, but you can kiss the capital good bye. Stop Nyoko if you could, and you save millions of people, but I get away to fight another day!" He howled with laughter, "So which will it be heroes?"

"I'll fight him, you stop Nyoko," Sly said to his partner. She blinked, not wanting to leave him in danger, but sighed and nodded her head. She turned to run out of the room, but the doors slammed shut as Charlie the Great slapped his tail fin against a button in his aquarium.

"Oops, too late, I guess it's a choice of do I eat fox or raccoon for dinner and save the other for desert?" He laughed and alarms began to wail. Slowly the glass under their feet began to slide away, and small pedestals shot out around the room. "And that my dear friends would be the dinner bell, so here I come!"

Ding Round 1 is over, and it seems like Charlie has the advantage, a swirling aquarium of death, and his number one agent ready to fire the weapon at millions of people. The second round begins in chapter nineteen, which is duh, the next chapter. I hope you're all having fun, because the action picks up. Just remember I don't write action that well, but I hope it will not disappoint at any rate. Going to stop writing now because its 10:30 at night, and I don't want to stay up too late. I still have to say my prayers, and write in my journal. Okay on to next chapter!