Ziggy's Corner: Chapter 27! This should be a long chapter. I do want to take the time to tell you that I recently created a group to help people to stop getting flamed, either from bullies, ever zealous fanatics, or other kinds of people. It is called the Knights of Fanfiction. If you'd like to help, join up, etc., click on my name, go to the Knight forum, and go to the sign up post. Haven't gotten any reviews from last time except from Heidi, whose already joined. Hope that I get some for these. Okay let's have some fun!

Rome, the eternal city. Sly'd been here on many different "missions", and loved to take time to sight see. This wasn't one of those times. Nyoko was here, somewhere. Sly needed those chips, and thanks to a surprise call from Morgan Skye, he'd learned that the ninja had taken one… possibly.

"Okay, look I don't think we have a lot of time," Sly told his friends. "Nyoko is bound to discover we're here, and if so, she'll either fly, or confront us, so we've got to find her, before she has the time to act."

Bentley hug up the phone and sighed, "Well I guess I'm a bachelor again." His friends looked at him. "I can't blame her, after dating like we did, and then the mission began, we didn't spend a lot of time together… plus she has a new job in London, and won't be stateside for at least three years." He fought tears. He hadn't had a relationship with Rose Marie for a long time, but now that it was over, it stung hard.

"Bentley, I'm sorry," Sly managed to say. He had stood there with his mouth open for a long time, it seemed like they had been the perfect couple. It broke his heart that his friend was in so much pain, as he could see it had with Murray, as no doubt it would do with Carmelita. "Look, if you want to go to her, try and fix things…,"

Bentley shook his head. "I don't think it'd do any good," the turtle said, kicking the ground. "Besides, we've got to get those chips, even if it's just one! No telling what evil could be unleashed if we don't. You heard Fr. Mac Cullum, Sly." He turned to his computer, and began typing furiously. Soon he had tracked the scorpion to a certain building in the city, and printed out the map.

"She's there," the turtle said. "I'm picking up some kind of weird electric system in this area, it was similar to one I found in Barstow, and now that we knew she was there, it's a good bet, that this is her."

"Or a tourist from Italy, that was visiting Barstow," Sly said dryly. They looked at him.

"That is a good point, Sly, but I have a strong hunch that this is indeed Nyoko," Bentley said.

"So we go there, knock the lies out of her, and take the chip, right?" Murray said, cracking his knuckles. He normally was opposed to hitting girls, but after what the Contessa had done to him, his ideas seemed to change.

"Well I don't think we have to worry about that buddy," Sly said with a chuckle, thankful for a change in pace from the bad news they had just received a little bit ago. "She doesn't work for Charlie anymore, she might be willing to work with us."

Bentley had said he didn't think as much, after all, if that were the case, why had she stayed hidden? Why had she attacked Morgan, not that he had much love for either woman. Sly considered that and had nodded, they would take enough caution this time around. She was a formidable opponent, and actually unpredictable.

The three of them slipped into the van, and drove off, silently passing past the police, Sly thankful that they had disguised the van, so no one would get too suspicious. It moved from street to street, passing houses both old and new, ancient and super conglomerate. It was indeed the eternal city.

As the van approached the building that the ninja was supposed to be, an explosion rocked the skyline, shaking everything around them. The master thief team's eyes went wide, each staring the next as more and more explosions could be seen, felt, and heard. "What is going on?" Sly cried.

"A terrorist attack?" Murray asked, checking the sky for any planes that had been taken over by lunatics, and were now dropping down to the ground, seeking victims to take to hell in the name of Allah or by some other god.

Bentley quickly tapped his computer terminal, scanning anything that might be helpful. Already there were news crews headed in their direction, already the net was abuzz with speculation about what was going on. "There's too many guess and not enough facts," the turtle croaked. "We really shouldn't stay here, we're well known by the police just about everywhere, we might be accused of this."

"But Nyoko is right above our heads," Murray said. "If we could just get to her…,"

"It might result in a fight, or worse," Bentley said, "No I think we'd better just pull up camp and wait for another… sweet Jesus!" he cried, as the building in front of them went up in flames.

"That rules out planes," Sly said with a nod. He turned to the back of the van, and opened the door.

"What in the world are you doing now? We gotta get out of here!" his best friend snapped.

"According to your sensors, Nyoko is still around here, in fact she was just in that building. If we can help in anyway, we should."

"Would you use common sense?" Bentley howled, jutting a finger out toward the building. What had been a fourteen, possibly fifteen story apartment building they had arrived at, was now a demented looking Tower of Pisa. Nine of the maximum floors had already fallen, bodies were lining the streets, people were pressed against red gray flaming rock, with glass slicing through their skin. The air smelled of despair, and smoke, puffs of gray and black clouds rose into the sky to form grim dark angelic faces of death that seemed to either frown or grin at their dark work. "You want to go out into that?!" Bentley narrowed his eyes, clenching a fist. He rarely got angry at his "brothers" but when he did, it was always serious.

"We need to try…," Sly said. "Look, even if Nyoko isn't among the injured, we still ought to try and help these other people."

"Did you stop to think that it might have been Nyoko who was responsible for any of this?" Bentley screamed.

"Or it could have been that Cult, the priest told us about," Sly said, raising his own voice. "Look, this won't be but for a second, I have to do this…," he turned and opened the door, and fell right into the ninja's embrace, her lips again pressed against his.

"Thanks for the concern, Cooper-San, but as you can see, I'm fine," she said as Sly pushed her away.

He glared at her, his eyes narrowing. "You did not do this, am I right?" he said, his tone dark and serious. It was as if he was daring her to say she had, so he could take out so much rage down on her.

"I'm a bad girl, I admit it," she giggled, and then frowned. "But no, I did not do this! I would do no such action as this desperate." Sirens were growing closer. She turned her head and then practically pushed herself into the van, followed by some kind of robotic, spider dog thing. "Good boy Cooyoko," she giggled as it licked her. "Now stay, and you…," she said pointing to Murray, "drive."

"Wait a moment, who said we were going to take you with us?" Sly growled.

"Would you rather we all be taken in by the authorities?" she asked. "I can tell you about the chip," she cooed.

Sly listened to the sirens just around the corner, and frowned, time was running out. He didn't trust this woman, and the urge to help the people was just as strong. Still he was a wanted criminal, and people looking for a scapegoat would not hesitate to "put two and two together" and blame the Cooper Gang. "Drive Murray."

"You sure?" The hippo looked between the raccoon and the scorpion and back again.

"Drive," Sly snapped quickly. He reached for a phone, dialed in an emergency number, and quickly gave the description of the scene to the operator, telling them where to find some of the people who had a chance of being rescued, who might have been passed over. "We're trailing an individual who might be responsible for this," he lied, hating himself… but he had to give some reason why they were not on the scene. "I think it might be an owl, it's too insane to really tell from here." When pressed for more information, or to stay on the line, Sly made another excuse that they were breaking up, and quickly severed the connection.

Turning to the grinning scorpion who was lying on the floor of the van, as if she were a fashion model, very seductively, he narrowed his eyes again. "Alright, now about that chip."

"Such a charmer," the scorpion cooed.

SLY COOPER

Morgan and Gwendolyn stepped of the plane, and made their way to the Aquarium. It didn't have much in the way of their mission, but this was the crane's first actual visit to the United States in quite some time. She'd been here for business once, on a two day trip, and had not gotten to site see like she had wanted, and the first time she was only a child of three, visiting Disney World with her parents.

What kind of demented person takes such a young child to such an awe inspiring place? She thought as they grew closer to the Aquarium of the Pacific. Oh, you've been to Disney World? Cool what was it like? Gee, it was a giant blur, with people talking in words I really couldn't understand yet, and some big freak with giant mouse ears, that lifted me up and down over and over again. And I only remember that part because it had scared me to death, and I still have nightmares about it!

They reached the aquarium, and the crane had to practically with strain herself from bounding out of her seat. Such sites to see, if she ever got married, places like this, and the museum in New York would more than likely be her tourist treats for the kids. "We're only here for about two hours," Morgan informed her. "Then we have to meet our contact at the Queen Mary."

Again an odd grin spread across Gwendolyn's face. The Queen Mary, one of the largest ships in history, even lager than the Titanic! Carrier of hundreds of troops during World War II. Her feather's itched and she fought the urge to jump up and down. All that history, all of this biology, it was enough to make her feel like she was a child again. Her friend looked over at her and laughed with a shake of her head.

"Remind me to pack some tranquilizer darts the next time I bring you anywhere like this," she chuckled. "Can't have you slobbering all over the curator or whatnot, and asking him for dates!"

"I don't do anything of the sort," Gwendolyn growled, regaining her composure. "Besides, I'm hear for business anyway," yeah … right, "I even have my notepad to use for the study of these fascinating animals inside here." She showed her friend the briefcase, loaded with not just one notepad, but dozens of them.

"It's a good thing we're not going to the beach too, you'd probably knock down everyone with a observation kit that actually contained your surfboard," Morgan laughed, poking Gwendolyn in the ribs.

The crane raised her long neck toward the ocean and narrowed her eyes at the waves, then clicked her tongue in disgust. "Maybe if we had gone to Hawaii, or one of the Central California beaches, but those little puppies aren't even worth me getting my board out of his case."

"His case?" Morgan asked as she paid for her ticket, and stepped aside to let Gwen pay for her's.

"You have your quirks, and I have mine!" The crane said with a smirk. She looked at her friend, and frowned, as she caught her staring in a direction, motionless with disbelief. "You alright?" she asked. She turned her head and caught site of pink fur and something signing slipping past a corridor. "What is it?"

"Your notes may have to wait," Morgan said, pressing further toward the corridor, and slipping out one of her blades. "I thought I just saw Constable Neyla go down this way."

"I thought I heard in the news that she was the leader of a secret gang of some sort, and was gunned down by Interpol," Gwen said, trying to see if there was any movement. The further away they were getting from the people, the creepier it felt, as if they were in a horror movie of some kind. She kept waiting for the director to yell cut, but the order never came.

"If by Interpol, you mean Carmelita Fox, then yes…," Morgan said, pushing further away from the protection of the crowd, or perhaps it was just the opposite, pushing away from the crowd so to protect them, in case a fight broke out. "With the help of Sly Cooper."

"Then how can she be alive?" Gwen asked, dropping her bags.

"Oh dear," came a dead like voice, almost as if someone were speaking through a voice enhancer machine of some kind. It was feminine, and made an icy shiver run up both friends' backs. "Have ye no faith other than science?" Neyla, or something that appeared to be Neyla stepped out of the darkness.

Most of her fur around her upper left side body was gone, just a few strands here and there, replaced by mechanical armor. The same was true of her lower right body. Some kind of mechanical eye piece jutted from one of her sockets, burning red. "All though I must say, science also had a hand in my rebirth." She looked at her body and sighed. "Not much to look at is there? I suppose I'll never get a date to the prom now, oh dear my, whatever will I do?"

"As if Sly would ever ask you," Morgan growled, twirling her blades in her fingers instinctively. Neyla scowled at her.

"He did once," she spat. "Unfortunately we had ways of parting before we could go out on the town." Her face pulled up in a hellish form, her eye glowing redder than ever before. "And I hate Sly Cooper!" she hissed. She pulled out a shiny silver cylinder from behind her back, and flipped a switch. A whip as red as her eye poured out of the machine as it hummed. "You really don't want to fight me, dearies."

Gwendolyn had pulled back into a defensive position, and narrowed her eyes, waiting for the first strike. The Cyborg turned to look at her and began to stalk. "You especially do not want to fight me hand to hand. You're not very smart, are you?"

"You'd be surprised," Gwen scowled.

"Well I don't want to fight," the tigress said with a smile.

"Then why come here?" Morgan asked. Neyla smiled.

"To give you a fair warning dear, you don't know with whom you're dealing with. That contact on the Queen Mary? He's dead now," she looked down at her whip and ran a hand on the cylinder. "If its any consolation, I had the grandest of time, and I think in the end, he might have as well."

"And we should believe you, because?" Gwen asked. The Cyborg looked at her, and reached into a bag in the floor, pulling the head of a pig and tossing it at them.

"He had the same look that you two are sharing right now when I walked through he bedroom door," Neyla teased. "Now be good, smart little girls, and go back home. You can't win."

Morgan howled in rage and leapt at the tigress, who blocked her attack with her right forearm, and spun her toward a wall. She rose her whip in the air, and brought it down, but hissed in shock as Gwendolyn leapt out of no where, and swung her own punch, at the weapon. A single strike shattered the metal, and the light red thread of the whip flashed into nonexistence.

Full enraged herself, Neyla turned and kicked the crane in her stomach and sent an uppercut to her jaw. Gwen flew across the room, dropping to the ground, wiping blood from her mouth, and watching as Neyla pounced toward her, jutting backwards as Morgan grabbed her by the ends of her blades and yanked backward, sending the monster into the darkness. There was a loud thump and clink as metal and skin hit the floor, and then the scamper of feet. "Last warning," Neyla's echoing voice called. "Go home."

Morgan raced after her, but the villain had made good her escape. Thinking quickly the numbat returned to her friend, and helped her up. "You want to go home?" she asked with a grim smile.

"You kidding me, it's just getting interesting," Gwen said, shaking the cobwebs from her head. "Besides I need to stay for the exercise, I seem to have gotten rusty."

SLY COOPER

You hear me Christian?

Yeah, I can hear you, brother!

The twins looked at each other and then at the goons in front of them, who were busy watching television. The thugs were muscle bound, with tiny heads, and possibly tinier brains. Neither boy could imagine their luck at this change of guards. "Excuse me, I have to go pee!" Christian asked.

"And I'm hungry," the other boy said.

"Will you two please stop, Gracia begged. "You're going to get us hurt, and besides, you know what dad says about talking to people like that!"

"I really gotta go!" Christian cried, jumping up and down, holding his pants.

"And I really gotta get something to eat!" Gabriel shouted.

One of the guards grumbled and rose to his feet, stomping toward the gate. "Fine, 'er eat this!" he howled, pushing a candy bar at the boys.

"They're not supposed to eat stuff like that," Gracia shouted, but pushed away as her brothers and the guard glared at her in unison.

"Take a leak in that pot over there," the guard added.

"I can't go in public," Christian cried.

The guard groaned and unlatched the bars, releasing the young boy, who dashed toward the bathroom, and locked it. "Look after him will you?"

"Why, there ain't no windows or anything in there, and…," His eyes grew wide, "What the fuck is that stench!" he cried, looking at the bathroom. "And what the hell's he doing in there, blowing up or something?"

"Brat must have put together a stink bomb or something," the first guard howled, ignoring an increasingly hyper Gabriel.

You ready brother?

Yeah,yeahI'mreadyreadyreadyreadyready!

You really gotta cut back on the sugar.

Ifthat'snotthekettlecallingthepotblack!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The guard opened the door, and went to drag out Christian, and nearly gagged at the slime rolling down on the walls. Christian finished washing his hands, and rushed by him, grabbing his keys and unlocking the door. Gabriel rushed by and slammed into the second guard, not once but twice, okay three times, the third on his princely jewels.

The other guard attempted to stop them from escaping, but the fumes from the bathroom was so bad he simply passed out. The twins smirked at each other and took their sister's hands, leading her to a window. "Out this way," they said in unison.

"Okay you two are seriously freaking me out, that's like a four story drop," the girl replied, staring way down to the bottom of the building. "There are guards down there too, how do you expect us to get away?"

So little faith has she, huh?

Sheneedstogetagrip!

And you need to take a breathe, even in your mind, dude. Shall we show her what we have in store, Gab?

Gabriel smirked. Let's.

The two boys took their sister's hands, and leapt out of the window, Christian covering his sister's mouth. With a leap and a bound, the three quickly found them out of the room, out of the compound, and into freedom, dashing toward freedom. "And you two did this how?"

The boys looked at each other and smiled.

SLY COOPER

Carmen lay in her nice, soft bed, watching soap operas, and sipping herbal tea. She hated soap operas and herbal tea, but that was all that seemed to be available. Feeling dark green yellow ooze run down her nose yet again, her arm reached for a tissue, and quickly knocked the box off the table by her bed. "Crap," she snarled.

Somewhere in the house Roberto was making her some soup, although he was taking his time about it. She could hear Vittoria prancing around the house too, singing some children's song, and playing with her dolls. Carmen prayed to be healthy, to join with her daughter's fun, but she likewise knew that if she had been healthy, she would have been packing her bags to attend that conference, as would her husband. And Vittoria would be left with Nana Maria.

Just as she thought about going to rise from her bed, her charming husband entered, with their little angel at his heels, bringing the queen of the house her soup. He gazed at her from behind the bed tray, and stood motionless, as if he had read her mind. With a playful smirk he narrowed his eyes. "You do, and I'll tie you down on that bed."

"That's abuse you know," Carmen said, narrowing her own eyes with her own playful smirk. She looked at her daughter and smiled brighter. "And what are you doing here, little lady? Has the mean dictator of flu-town actually decided to grow lax in his laws?"

The three year old giggled, twirling her shoulder length black hair and hid behind her father's legs. "Sssssshhhhhh!"

Roberto, pretending he hadn't heard her, inched toward the bed, and set down the tray by the bed, Vittoria inching ever behind daddy. "You know I think my leg's gone numb, I can't seem to move it much!" he told Carmen, trying not to smile. His warm chocolate hair and matching eyes shone in the light, his eyes twinkling playfully. "I might have to go to the doctor too, it really feels numb!" He reached behind him and began to rub it, tickling his little angel, pretending to be oblivious to it."

"No," Vittoria giggled, pulling away. Her face was round, youthful. Freckles lined her cheeks and nose, a few on her ears too.

"I guess we have a giggle fairy in the house too," he sighed. "And here I just sprayed for those."

"I guess you'll just have to find a better spray," Carmen said with a wide grin, resting her chin on the back of her hand as she watched. Vittoria giggled again and spun into their bathroom, hiding from her father, a bit successfully. Carmen giggled and motioned with a finger to show her husband where she had gone.

"I think a certain little angel best get away from the bathroom, or she'll get as sick as her mommy," Roberto said, not turning around. The girl gasped and rushed out, putting her hands her hips.

"Mommy," she chastised. Her lower lips pouted and she looked down at her tiny feet. Her disappointment seconds ago diminished. "Gots a new song!"

Carmen rose her eyebrows. "Really? Le me hear."

Vittoria squealed with delight, and posed just so. The she broke out with a "moving" rendition of "Doncha wish your girlfriend was hot like me". Carmen's jaw dropped and she stared daggers at her husband, who seemed to lose a good deal of color.

"Don't look at me," he gasped.

"Were you watching her when she was watching television?" he shrugged sheepishly. Carmen turned to her daughter, rolling her eyes. "Sweetie that's great, but I really don't think you want to sing that song, it's not appropriate at you age, okay?"

Vittoria lowered her head, and frowned. "Kay!" Then Perky Vittoria peeped back up, "Pie!" she squealed, and dashed off to the kitchen.

"Pie?!" Carmen looked at her husband. "Just want have you been letting her do while I've been sick?"

"I didn't give her any…," his eyes grew wide. "V… wait a moment," he hollered and rushed into the kitchen, where the girl squealed, and her father warned her of a large bag of flour. Seconds passed, and then the sounds of crashing pots and pans, along with a painful yelp forced Carmen from her confines and hurrying into the kitchen as quick as her condition would let her go.

Flour was everywhere, everything pasted in a fine, white substance, as if Picaso had been given the green light to be the new Jack Frost and had brought winter into Carmen's kitchen. In front of her, a very happy Vittoria was holding up a small pie, which Carmen would later learn that daddy had helped her make to make Carmen feel better.

"Pie, mommy!" the grinning girl said, holding it up. Then she frowned. "But daddy made a biiiiiiigggggggg mess!" She jutted her finger at her father, laying in a sack of flour, and jus grumbling. Vittoria put a small hand on her hip and clicked her tongue like her mother. "What's we gonna do with dat man?"

Despite feeling like vomiting, she held it down, and howled with laughter at her daughter, followed by embarrassed chuckles from her husband. If laughter was the best medicine, Carmen knew she'd get better in no time staying home.

Okay, it's done! I hope you liked it, and have fallen in love with little Vittoria! I'm not sure, could I have upped her cute factor, or was she just the right shade of too cuteness? Well onto the next chappie!