The Cooper X Gang
By Mutitoon90
Chapter Fifteen: Operation: The Big Plan.
San Francisco
On the first day, Jing King, or Mrs. Wong, met the duo at the airport, mainly because her father, the Panda King was still a wanted criminal due to his extreme crimes, including his involvement of the murders of the Coopers. She told Rad and Sam that she, her husband, or her father could bring food to the Warren estate at any time.
Rad thanked Jing King with the grace of his ancestors, while Sam gave a shy 'thank you'.
The weeks rolled by slowly and both the raccoon and the cat started to become very tried of eating Chinese food.
Rad was reading the Thievius Raccoonus, while Sam looked out of the window. The two had been staying in Mar's house for almost four weeks, doing nothing, but worrying about any problems from the possible leader of the Fiendish Klaws.
Rad closed the heirloom and got up to his feet, stretching his stiff body.
"Sam, you want something?" The raccoon asked the cat.
Sam turned her head to Rad's direction, revealing to Rad that the feline had being crying.
"Sam, you're crying again." Rad said, pulling a neckerchief out of his pocket, and giving it to Sam.
"Thanks." The feline said, accepting the neckerchief for the fifteenth time within one and a half fortnights.
"Scared?" Rad asked.
"Terrified." Sam replied; her body started to shake.
"Sam," Rad said, noticing his co-worker's body.
"I'm just hungry." The feline replied, calming Rad a little.
"All right." Rad said. Then, he asked, "Chinese?"
"No." Sam replied flat out.
Rad laughed at Sam's reaction before he said, "I was joking; I'm getting pretty sick of Chinese food too."
"How about pizza?" The feline asked, causing a grin on the raccoon's face.
"Good idea." Rad said. Then, he thought for a moment and asked Sam, "Won't Mrs. Wong be upset?"
"No."
"Well, I hope you're right." The raccoon joked.
Sam giggled as Rad left the room. Once he was out of the room, Sam got up and walked to the mirror in the sitting room, sat down, and closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes she was no longer in the sitting room, but in her own mind. As she looked on, she saw a great fire and a figure, which was like her form. She made her way to the figure, which turned around to face her. Sam knew this form very well, for it was her darker side which was made of all of the emotions Sam had hidden from the others of her life; she believed that her hidden emotions have made up the creature that was in Sam's mind for years.
"It's being a while." Sam said to her mental counterpart.
"It has," The dark side replied, "if you call almost a month a while."
Sam wasn't going give in to her dark side so easily.
"Sam, I know what you are doing, and I'm going to tell you right now: it's not going to work."
"I have to try," Sam replied, "I need to lighten my heart for the journey I must go on."
The dark side laughed, as if Sam had told a joke.
"Sam, you should be a comedian."
"I'm being serious."
"Then, you have a career."
Sam growled at her dark side as the flame behind the dark side flared up, which the dark side noticed.
"You're angry." The dark side said, turning to the flame, "It's good to see that you're still in touch with your emotions."
"You don't frighten me." Sam said.
"I know."
Then, the dark side turned to Sam again.
"So, you wish me gone for a while." The dark side mused, "A lot of good that is going to do you."
"It should!" Sam replied, "I've carried you for years."
"No, you haven't carried me; you've carried yourself."
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked her dark side.
"Your trust."
"My trust?" Sam repeated.
"Come up here." The dark side motioned the cat to come near the fire.
Sam obeyed, coming closer to the flame.
"Look into the fire."
The cat looked into the fire, seeing herself as a lost nine-year-old.
"What's going on?"
"Your past."
Sam saw her past, when the Panda King rescued her, when Mar rescued her from prostitution drivers, and when Luna allowed her to stay with her in an apartment. The cat saw her life change with the arrival of Rad, Justin, and Belle in the formation of the Cooper X Gang. She turned to her dark side and asked, "What is this about?"
"Your trust." The dark side replied, "The one thing that truly made my form. You have hidden trust in yourself for years, ever since Neyla murdered your parents. Then, bit-by-bit, you started trusting others again. You see, I'm not your evil side, I'm your trust and love for others."
The dark side started to disappear, shocking Sam greatly.
"What's happening?"
"I may no longer have this form, but I'll always be with you, whether you like it or not."
Then, the form of trust and love disappeared, leaving a few glimmers of light, which flew into Sam.
The cat opened her eyes, which were filled with tears.
"Sam?" Rad's voice rang into the cat's ears.
"Yeah?" The feline responded, drying the tears out of her eyes.
"Pizza's here!" Rad announced as he entered the sitting room.
That, to Sam, was good news.
"Thanks, Rad." Sam said, taking a slice of pizza that was offered to her.
In the next week, the Cooper X Gang and the old Cooper Gang plus Carmelita were in the same house talking about the plan.
"So, where's Neyla?" Bentley, the turtle asked.
"Well, it took us a while, but we found in a very strange place." Sly said, very concerned.
"Where is it, Dad?" Rad asked his father.
"Paris." Carmelita answered.
"Paris?" Belle exclaimed in shocked.
"As in our hometown?" Justin asked, also shocked.
"In France?" Rad asked as well.
"I'm afraid so." Sly replied.
"Oh, my!" Luna said, shaking her head.
"You can say that again." Mar agreed.
"This is most troubling." The Panda King said, seeing the troubling look on Rad, Belle, and Justin's faces.
"What's the plan?" Sam asked Sly and Carmelita.
"Are you sure?" Carmelita asked.
"Yeah," Sly agreed, "are you sure that you're ready to face Neyla?"
"Of course, I am." The cat replied with a true smile, "As long as I'm with the Cooper X Gang."
Seeing this, The Coopers looked at each other, hoping for answers, but they smiled, seeing the change in Sam as a good thing.
"Here's the plan." Carmelita started.
Next chapter: The Paris Plan