Disclaimer: I don't own any Sly Cooper characters; they belong to Sucker Punch Productions.

Claimer: I own all or my original characters.

Ok, I'm finally done with the flashback chapters and finally moved on to the end of chapter one! I'm still hoping I can make this story surpass 11 chapters (fingers crossed) but please read and review and give me you thoughts or comments!

Chapter 6: Gunpoint

My lungs burned and I was running out of air. I couldn't go back to the grate for more air. Water was still flowing and the top would be overflowed. My shout wasn't that long and it would be a worthless attempt. I lungs were on fire and I was starting to see black spots in my vision. I couldn't believe that I was so close to realizing my goal only have be beaten by water. I was lightheaded and disoriented. I didn't know up from down and I was seeing more black spots. I couldn't help but think of everything I had been through to get to this stage and everything was flashing by inside my brain. I though of everything as I released my breath and the black spots became a blob and took over both my vision and thinking powers. I felt myself hit the ground gently as I slipped out of reality and into my own thoughts.

My eyes shot open as I felt the pressure on my chest ease up and water rise out of my lungs and into my throat. I rolled onto my side as started to viciously cough up the water I had swallowed. I was still lightheaded and disoriented but I was starting to regain my vision. I gasped in fresh air into my lungs as I rolled onto my stomach and continued coughing. It took me a minute to fully realize where I was but I finally noticed I was still in the basement of Cortex's base of operations. The water had been drained from the now open door and I was still alive. I know I didn't unlock the drain and I highly doubt one of Cortex's goons would have helped. I rolled over so could actually face my savior and thank them and when my gaze met theirs, I was indeed surprised. But then again, Cooper always found a way to save me from certain destruction quite often. He looked at me with an expression of concern etched on his face. I sat up slowly as I still tried to regain my vision and balance before trying to figure out how he had gotten here in the first place. Along with being out of breath, I was also freezing my fur off. The water had been cold and now that I was left in completely soaked clothes only made it worse. I was sitting in one of the small puddles of water that still were still left on the floor and now I was shivering constantly. I returned to the ground when I felt more water rise from my chest in to my nasal cavity. I continued coughing and my sides started to ache from the harsh constrictions on my lungs. I felt Sly's paws firmly, but caringly grab my shoulders and he helped me get to my feet. I wobbled slightly as I regained my balance and my head finally cleared.

"Thanks, again." I couldn't count how many times he had saved my skin from getting shot, stabbed, crushed, or anything else and I was certainly grateful for it.

"What happened to you keeping yourself from getting hurt?" I let out a snort at the though of that.

"I swear, I get stalked by death and I seem to keep running into it, don't I? How did you get in here anyway?" I asked while brushing wet strands of hair from my eyes.

"The door; your sister got the security lock off the door and got it open," I nodded before another thought entered my head; why was he even here?

"And if you're wondering," he continued, "your brother had a feeling that you would get yourself in some sort of trouble and asked me to keep an eye on you." He gave a wink and I rolled my eyes at the though of my brother sending someone to check on me.

"Sitka, the man with the upmost confidence in me." I remarked as I headed for the door I had initially intended to go through.

"Ramona, the exit's this way." He pointed at the door behind us with his cane.

"I know," I said before shaking my body like a dog to let the extra water out of my fur, "I'm not leaving if I'm already here."

"You're kidding, right? You almost drown and you still want to keep going? And even if this was a good idea, you're soaking wet. You couldn't run if your life depended on it."

"Oh come one, give me a break here. I brought a change of clothes in an air tight bag just incase. And if I turn back now, it'll look like I'm weak and can't possible scare anyone who gets in my way."

"That's not the point. What I'm saying is that if this is just the entrance, just imagine what could possibly be down that hallway."

"The rest of my life and my inner insanity is what is down that hallway." I searched through my bag and eventually pulled out the tightly sealed bag of spare clothes I usually carried with me on major jobs like this. Just incase something like this ever happened.

"I don't care if the cure for every illness in the world and a million dollars are down there, you can't go down there alone." He stepped forward a few steps so he was now standing a few inches from me and had a stern and serious look on his face. I sighed and knew I would have to figure out a way to get down there.

"Then just go with me," I offered, "because I'm going either way." He sighed himself and thought for a moment.

"Alright, but you'd better stick right beside me." He pointed a finger at me and let it rest softly on the tip of my nose.

"Deal, but do me a favor and scout ahead or something. I want to get out of these clothes." He nodded before darting though the door and left me to change.

I pulled out the fresh clothes from the tightly closed bag and got ready to change. I looked around to be sure there was no one watching me. I quickly stripped out of the soaking wet clothes before pulling on the dry ones. I changed as quickly as possible so I could get this over with and finally go home. After I placed the wet clothes in my bag, I checked to make sure I everything inside. I was relieved when I saw that all the crystals, gems, relics, and keys were in place and I could move forward. I ran forward and through the door and quickly met back up with Sly who was waiting behind a door. I peered around him and into the seemingly empty room. I cringed at the sight of the room after I realized what it held. After being taken here as a child and used as a test subject, this was one of the many rooms where these experiments took place. I placed my back against the wall before shutting my eyes tightly and tried to get the thoughts of all the painful hours spent in miniature hell holes like the one in front of me. I opened my eyes after feeling one of Sly's paws rest on my shoulder. I shook my head to clear it before we continued forward. We cautiously stepped into the room and looked for a way to get through to the generator room.

It was dark, cold, and rather dusty inside and it looked like it hadn't been used in years. We stepped quietly and made virtuously no noise except for our breathing. I jumped at the sound of a door opening and I felt myself get pulled underneath a table. I had my back pressed against Sly's chest as we quietly watched two pairs of legs pass by our table. It was obvious there was a male and a female inside and they stayed silent as the passed by slowly. The woman paced back and forth by our hiding area and I feared they had found out location. However I was relieved when both unknown people walked out of the room. We both released out breaths before crawling out from the dust table. We quickly made out way through the door, keeping low to the ground and sticking to the shadows. I gave a quick smile when I realized that I was standing inside the generator room. I eyed the generator to my left, which was perched at the top of a few stairs. The rest of the room was almost empty with the exception of a lunch table and a few chairs.

"That's it. All I have to do is get this stuff in the proper place and everything should start shutting down." I whispered to the thief behind me.

"Alright, I'll let you handle that and I'll keep watch down on the other end." I thanked him before starting to make my way towards the hunk of metal. I stopped short when I felt his cane quickly latch around a belt loop.

"And try to stay out of trouble." I nodded and I was released. I crept up the three small stairs and to the generator. I quietly over looked the black blob and unlatched the entrance valve. It was filled with different types of holes to place the crystals and other things in. I blew the dust away from slits before making for my pouch. I stopped when I heard Sly yell at me to turn around. I looked in his direction and saw the swarms of security guards entering the room and already trying to beat him down. I tried to stand to lend some soft of help but stopped when I felt my hair get pulled and my head slam into the side of the generator. I screeched a curse and wondered why I could never enter this place without getting almost killed or attacked every ten minutes. I was pulled again by the hair and thrown roughly down the three stairs before receiving a kick to the side. I tried to twist and go for my attackers legs but was stopped by a swift kick to the mouth. I felt the blood trickle down my mouth before having a heel press into my back. I was kicked one more time before yanked up by the scruff of my neck and thrown onto the stairs. I quickly spat out the blood and broken tooth from my mouth before I was rolled onto my back so I could look at my attacker. As I was being rolled over, I heard the click of the safety being release from a gun and my fears were realized when I saw that I had the barrel of one pointing directly at my face. The gun wasn't two feet from the center of my head and I slowly moved my eyes from the end of the gun, up the arm of the bearer, and to the face of the woman. I felt my eyes widen and my mouth hang agape as I immediately recognized the woman. I finally found my voice as I said the name of the gun barer.

"…Mom…?"