Alright, here is the next chapter in my amazing story! Hope you enjoy it!

Sly Cooper and the Space Thieves

Chapter 8- The Final Challenge

"Tell me again how you two beat them!" Murray really wanted to hear how his teammates have beaten a couple of rhino champs without touching them yesterday; even though it was probably the hundredth time it was told. "Alright, just this last time Murray," said Sly. "While Opo and Uri were charging at us, I modified my cane so that instead of absorbing shock blasts; it would deflect them!" Carmelita took it from here. "Sly then pushed the cane into the ground and then we jumped as those horn brains were about to hit us. During the jump, I reset my pistol to shock mode and fired at Sly's cane. When my blasts hit it, the cane deflected the blasts right at those rhinos and gave them the shock of their lives!"

Everyone was happy that they have pulled through Chief Rajz's games, and they were anxious about the last challenge they must complete to gain the Vapok's trust. "Whatever this final challenge is, we can pass it. I know we can," Sly reassures his friends. 'At least, I hope we can.'

Just then, Rajz walked into their hut and they turned towards him. "Good morning, outsiders," he spoke. "The time has come for you all to participate in the final challenge! This challenge will be completely different from any of the games you have experienced. I don't expect you all to survive it, let alone pass it." The whole gang looked really nervous now, even Sly and Carmelita. They both asked in unison: "What is the final challenge already!" Rajz smiled. "Very well. The Final Challenge is…"

Sly woke up with a major head ache. 'Oh, what happened? The last thing I remember was Chief Rajz telling us what the final challenge was. Then it went black…' As he was getting back on his feet, he noticed two things: 1- His friends were all missing! And 2- The place he woke up in was very familiar to him. It was his parent's house! Also, it looked the same as the day Clockwerk and his Fiendish Five attacked it and killed his parents, making him an orphan; completely wrecked. "What is going on here, some kind of trick by Rajz! Yeah, I bet Rajz sucker punched us while he was talking! Now I am trapped in some kind of nightmare. There was no "final challenge!" It was all a set-up; just like…"

"SLY COOPER!" A loud, screeching voice calling him from behind. As he turned around, Sly came face-to-face with an enemy he thought was gone for good: Clockwerk! He looked exactly the same as the day Sly finished him off a few years ago: a big, metallic owl with a very vengeful look in his hypnotic eyes. "It can't be! You were destroyed!"

"You can never be rid of me, Cooper, never! I have taken your family, now I will take your friends!" Clockwerk pointed his left wing at Sly's old home, and Sly saw Carmelita and the others, completely unconscious! They are in a cage where the house was and the cage was slowly getting smaller by the second!

Shocked at this, he turned back to Clockwerk and yelled, "Leave them out of this! This is between you and me! Got that!" Clockwerk laughed insanely. "You're pathetic friends are just as guilty as you are. I want you to suffer before I kill you as well! In 10 minutes, that cage will crush the life out of them. And there is nothing you can do about it!"

"That's not true!" Sly screamed back at the titanic bird and began to run to his friends, only to find that his feet were stuck in the ground! He couldn't move them an inch. Clockwerk continued to laugh as he watches Sly struggle to get free, without success. Sly couldn't believe this; his friends were being crushed into dust while all he could do was watch them die! And to make things worse, he had failed to complete the mission and return with everyone to Earth alive! He felt he had let his friends down again. He feared he would fail to keep his friends alive…

Then it hit him; fear. "Of course. I have been afraid for my friends since this whole mission started, and my fear is being manifested into this nightmare somehow. This bad dream is the final challenge; for me to overcome my fears for my friends!" As he realized this, his fear vanished and was replaced with courage. He knew what he had to do. "Listen up, Clockwerk! I am not afraid of you anymore, nor am I afraid of failing my friends! You know why?"

As he was talking to Clockwerk, he began to grow in size until he was as big as his old nemesis. Clockwerk was the one scared now. "Because I believe in myself, and I know my friends will never think any less of me! No matter what, they will always be there for me when I need them! Now it is time to end this bad dream!" And with that closing statement, Sly easily slashed Clockwerk's head off with his cane. Then he walked over to the cage and ripped it open like wrapping paper and got his friends out safe and sound. After he put them all down, everything started to black out again…

When Sly opened his eyes, he was back in the hut he and the others were resting in. To his immense relief, his friends have also woken up with no injury, though they were confused as to what happened. When everyone was awake, Chief Rajz was still at the same spot he was when he came in. He was smiling again, but this time his smile was warm and caring looking. "Well done, Sly Cooper. You have passed the final challenge. You and your friends have returned alive and well."

Sly felt like a huge weight has been lifted from him and he never felt better in his life as he smiled. He knew what happened, but the others didn't. Carmelita was the first to speak out at the ancient rhino. "Hey! What the heck just happened! One minute you were chit-chatting with us, and the next you're congratulating Sly for something the rest of us weren't clued in on!" "It is simple Carmelita Fox," said the chief. "The final challenge was for Sly Cooper to overcome his fear of losing all of you, his closest friends. I used some of my ancient mystic energy to send all of you to the dream world, where the final challenge would take place.

"Only by discovering and conquering his fears, would he be able to save you all from the danger you were put in. If he had failed, you would all have died. I sensed much fear in you, Sly. I sensed it while you were tied up a few days ago, so I decided to test you by putting you through this. You have succeeded, and by doing so; you and your friends have earned the trust and respect of the Vapok. Only a strong and noble person could accomplish what you have done, Sly Cooper.

"Now come, join us for lunch. We can discuss about the Aquians while we feast." He motioned for everyone to follow him outside to eat. Sly was about to head out with the others, but someone had grabbed his right arm. It was Carmelita. "Is something wrong, Carmelita?" She smiled as she shook her head. "No. I just want you to know that I am proud of you Ringtail. A real man would overcome what he is afraid of most." She gave Sly a small kiss, which quickly turned into a big one as she wrapped her arms around Sly's neck. Sly replied by wrapping his arms around her waist, returning the favor.