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On with the chapter!

Sly sat backwards on a chair, staring blankly at Kaia's door.

They had escaped the cops and managed to find a hotel with a couple of empty rooms, at which point Kaia snatched her key, slammed the door to her adjoining room and refused to come out, even for dinner.

"Why is she so mad at us?" Sly asked Bentley, who rolled his eyes and sighed.

"She's not mad at us, she's mad at you." The turtle informed him as his fingers flew over the keyboard of his laptop, "You're the one that used her against the police."

The raccoon looked over at his friend, "That's why?"

"Well, there's that and the fact that you kidnapped her, drugged her, and-"

"Hey- you helped!" Sly sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, "Well, how do I get her to stop being mad?"

Bentley gave him a 'You expect me to know that?' look, "She's a girl Sly, the female thought process is illogical at best."

Brown eyes looked at him miserably, "Then what am I supposed to do?"

The turtle shrugged, "That you'll have to figure out yourself."

The next day, Sly began his attempts to get out of the doghouse.

Knock, knock, knock!

"What?"

"It's me."

"Go away."

"I have pancakes."

"No."

"And strawberries with cream."

"No."

"I even begged the staff out of some ice cream!"

"No."

"Come on!"

Knock, knock, knock.

"Kaia, we're going to try to sneak Murray onto the set of a musical!"

"… Are you serious?"

"Yes!"

"Hmm…"

Baited breath.

"No."

Knock, knock, knock.

"For the love of- I was sleeping! I don't care what scheme you have now, it won't work!"

"Kaia, I am going to stand here and beat on your door until you open it!"

I growled to myself, he really would stand out there all night. I slid out of my bed and onto the floor, padding over and opening the door a crack, "What do you want?"

A dark hand wormed its way through the crack and pulled the door the rest of the way open. "To say I'm sorry." Sly said, stepping into the room, "I shouldn't have used you against the police like that, okay? I just- well I… here." He took my hand and placed a jewelry box in it, then immediately shoved his hands back into his pockets, "I got that for you."

I glanced down at the innocent-looking box curiously. It was small, it fit easily in the palm of my hand and it was covered in the cheap red fabric that many such boxes are. It opened with a 'click' and revealed a silver necklace with a small pendant in the shape of an oval that had a green-gold stone set in it. On the back of the pendant was a large 'K' in loopy, elegant calligraphy.

"I figured you'd like that color best, since it matches your eyes." Cooper said, shifting nervously.

Okay, I admit it… that was kind of cute.

I smiled and held it up to the light. "Thank you, I really like it." I lifted my gaze from the pendant for just a moment as looked him in the eye. "And you're forgiven."

All the tension and awkwardness in his body seemed to melt away in one breathy sigh of relief. His posture slackened, his eyes focused, and his languid smile made a dramatic comeback, "You really had me worried there. I always thought the phrase 'Hell hath no fury like a woman's scorn.' was an exaggeration."

"Hey, just be glad I never actively sought to make you miserable, elsewise you would've been royally screwed." I fumbled with the clasp of the necklace, "Hey, could you help me get this on?"

"Sure," he moved so silent and gracefully that I hardly knew he'd moved till he'd plucked the necklace out of my hands and was behind me.

When he'd finished, I went to crawl back into bed and he went back to his and the gang's room. He paused in the doorway for a moment, though.

"Hey, Jinx?"

"Mmm?"

"You really planning to turn us in?"

Maybe I paused too long in my reply.

"Every second of every day."

Sly Cooper was one of those people who could verbally convey a smile with next to no effort.

"Liar."

"Thief."

I'm not quite sure what woke me at five a.m. three days later. Perhaps it was the fact that Murray usually woke then and I was used to having to try to ignore his vain attempts not to make noise as he took a shower before heading downstairs. Or maybe it was that I didn't have my curtains all the way closed and the street light was right in my face when I rolled over in my sleep. Or perhaps I had just subconsciously sensed that something was amiss. Whatever it was, I'm eternally grateful for it.

I peeled my eyes apart when I couldn't get back to sleep and saw the first smidge of blue-grey in the clouds that indicated coming dawn. I'd always like that time of the morning best, so I crawled out of bed and parted the curtains. I smiled up at the sky, then looked down…

… and saw Cooper putting Bentley's equipment in the back of the van

I didn't think, I just acted.

I grabbed my backpack and shoved my clothes, my toothbrush, and my contact case inside. I stepped into my shoes, only getting them half-on before I bolted out the door. I passed right by the elevator and headed straight for the stairs, flying down them and jumping the last flight.

When I reached the first floor I heard a familiar engine rumble to life and knew I couldn't catch them before they passed out of the parking lot. I slammed up against the side door, forcing it open and concealing myself in some bushes.

It's true, one thinks best under adrenaline. There was a stop sign in front of those bushes. The lock for the back door of the van was broken. My mind analyzed the facts and I had a strategy more quickly than I'd ever thought possible. Sure enough, Murray stopped completely at the sign, ever a good driver. I lunged out of the bushes and threw the door open, flinging myself inside just as the vehicle started moving again.

The acceleration momentum almost threw me back out, but a hand gripping the back of my shirt prevented that. When I opened my eyes Sly was reaching across me to pull the van door closed. Bentley groaned into the case that held his laptop, which he clutched like it would solve all his problems.

The doors safely closed, Sly looked down at me, surprise on his features. He opened his mouth, but I threw my hand over it to shut him up. "Don't," I panted out, my other hand on my chest, willing my pounding heart to slow, "Don't start yelling at me until I have enough breath to yell back."

He pulled out of my reach, but I was close enough to feel him chuckle. "I was just going to say you have the worst bed-hair I've ever seen." He reached out and tried vainly to smooth down some of the poof that had been brought to my attention.

I blushed and smacked his hand away, "It's too early for this!"

Sly always looked like hell first thing in the morning, and I didn't have my contacts in so I couldn't really be sure of what I saw, but right then I could have sworn that he looked almost… relieved…

"An old temple?" I mumbled at Bentley around my cup of coffee.

He nodded, "Rajan seems to have holed himself up there, producing spice like crazy with the Clockwerk heart."

I rolled my eyes skyward, "This is sounding more and more like a video game."

"A video game?" Murray asked with his mouth full of French fries.

"This I have to hear," Sly said, on my other side. We were currently stopped at some city I couldn't pronounce the name of, eating McDonald's. Yup, McDonald's was in India. It's taken over the world, I tell you! At least it has decent coffee sometimes. "How on Earth is this like a video game?"

"Well, you know…" I mumbled, nibbling on a fry, "The different locations are like levels and the guys you steal from are like bosses you have to fight at the end of the level."

"But we didn't fight Rajan," Bentley pointed out, "We just robbed him blind." Pride colored his voice. He may not have seemed it, but of the gang's thieving reputation, Bentley was probably the most proud.

"Because he has another Clockwerk Part," I said, pointing my wilted stub of a potato in Bentley's direction, as if it proved something, "Ergo, new level."

Beside me, Cooper was shaking his head, a stupid grin on his face, "Well, what do you know? Jinx is a gamer. You learn something new every day."

I elbowed him in the ribs, "I told you not to call me that."

He inched out of range, "And I ignored you. But wouldn't your theory mean that this is a sequel game? Two years ago is when we defeated Clockwerk."

"Come to think of it," Bentley said, sounding far away, "The events back then kind of describe the pattern Kaia just came up with."

"Then Clockwerk was the final boss!" Murray exclaimed once he was done chewing, seeming proud of himself for picking up on the pattern.

Sly frowned, "Then who's the final boss in this game?"

Everyone exchanged a wary look.

I tried to sound nonchalant, "There may not be one. After all, the goal of this game is to collect all the Clockwerk Parts, right? Once you do that in most games either something will go horribly wrong, or there'll be a cool cinematic, then the credits."

Bentley rolled his eyes, "This is ridiculous, are we actually having this conversation?"

Sly reached over the table and prodded him, "Come on, you know you like the idea of being in a video game!"

Bentley's cheeks darkened, but his tone stayed exactly the same, "What would it even be called?"

"Pack of Misfits? Ow!" I rubbed my arm, where Sly had pinched me, "What was that for?"

"Giving my video game such a stupid name!"

I gaped at him, "Your game?"

"Yeah! Picture this!" He slung an arm over my shoulder and waved his hand, as if miming a huge banner, "Sly Cooper 2: Band of Thieves!"

I dug my heel into his foot and clambered off the bench we were on, making a splendid retreat towards the playground, "Yeah, congrats, Cooper! Your video game may be the only one in history without a love interest!"

He looked stunned for a moment, before his features morphed into something altogether an unhealthy mixture of mischievousness and evil, "Is that so?"

"Yeah! I mean, even Pacman has Ms. Pacman!"

"Well, then, I'll just have to steal myself a love interest, now won't I?" Sly stood, then folded his arms and tapped his chin, looking around, "Now where can I find a single girl…?" His eyes landed on me and the expression was back and he was pushing his sleeves up his arms, "Oh, look at that! I found one!"

I stuck my tongue out at him, turning on my heel, "You'll have to catch me first!"

Murray watched Kaia and Sly chased each other around the playground, then looked at Bentley, "Sly's going to be really sad when Kaia has to leave for good, isn't he?"

Bentley sighed, "Probably. That's why I tried to leave her here. We're just going to get more attached the longer she's around. She's like a fungus, she just grows on you, whether you want her to or not."

"She's fun though. I wish she could stay." Now Kaia was pelting Sly with balls from the ball pit.

"I guess it's not so bad to have someone around that I can have an intellectual conversation with," Bentley admitted, "But there's no chance she can stay with us. She's just too much of a wild card."

"Murray!" Sly shouted as he emerged victorious from the playground, managing to keep his grip on the hybrid even though she was pummeling his back with her fists, "Get the van! This calls for a dramatic exit!"

"You got it, Sly!"

"Put me down or I'll bite your ear!"

"No you won't- Ow! Wolf teeth! Wolf teeth!"

"We have to hike to the temple?" I grumbled as Sly handed me a backpack loaded down with tech equipment.

"Hey, you're the one who refused to stay at the hotel," he grinned at me, "Now you have to pull your weight."

"It'll be fun!" Murray said, hefting the biggest machete I'd ever seen.

I gaped at him, "Murray, I think your definition of fun and my definition of fun are two very different things."

"Alright," Bentley said, looking around the van one last time to make sure he didn't forget any 'vital' electronics, "Let's go."

The jungle was hot, humid, and mucky. I also saw about five poisonous snakes in the first ten minutes, but we didn't really hit a huge problem until a few miles in.

Bentley slipped on some grass on a downhill slope and skidded down to the bottom, landing on a patch devoid of plant life. And then he started to sink. "Quicksand!" he yelped, staying perfectly still, showcasing his quick thinking under pressure.

I have never seen anyone or anything move as fast as Sly did in that moment; he dropped what he was carrying and ran to the quicksand. Bentley was really small and sinking fast, he didn't have enough time to find anything like a rope. He jumped to Bentley and pulled him out, throwing him to safety just beyond the patch of sand. In the process, he sank up to his knees.

By this time, Murray and I had caught up. The hippo caught Bentley and I started looking for something to pull Sly out with. There! About halfway up a tree, I saw a long vine draped over a branch. I grabbed the machete from where Murray had dropped it and, without giving myself time to freak out, kicked off my shoes and socks and scaled the tree, extending my claws to help me grip it.

I cut the vine down and threw it to Murray, who threw it to Sly, who had sunk up to his waist. When I got back down, I rushed over in front of Murray and started pulling as well.

Sly was about a yard and a half from safety when the vine snapped in the middle.

I lunged forward and just managed to catch his forearms before he whiplashed backward out of reach, sunk up to his chest. I almost fell in myself, but Murray grabbed me and held on. I even felt Bentley latch onto one of my ankles as an anchor when my feet lifted off the ground.

For one horrible instant, I felt my grip on Sly slip, but then my eyes locked onto his and I sank my teeth into my bottom lip. Praying he'd forgive me for it later, I flexed my hands and felt my claws sink into his arms. He winced at the same time I did, but now my grip was solid.

Then I was being pulled backward and landed heavily on my back, which knocked the air from my lungs. Sly, coated in thick glop, was splayed out over my legs, coughing.

I scrambled into a sitting position and retracted my claws as Bentley and Murray surrounded Sly on both sides, helping him to sit and get his bearings.

Letting them have their 'OMG, you nearly died' moment, I went to where I had dumped my bags and rummaged around until I found some first aid supplies.

"Sly, let me see your arms." I said, sitting in front of him and taking the top off the antiseptic. I winced when I saw the bloody holes on his arms, but thankfully they had appeared between his gloves and sleeves, so I didn't have to worry about clothing fibers getting stuck in the wounds. "Sorry about this," I said, pouring the antiseptic on the wounds.

He winced, but then did his best to grin at me, "Better than suffocation. On a separate note, don't you ever cut your nails?"

I raised the hand that wasn't affixing gauze to his injuries and flexed my claws, tipped with blood, "Why would I when they come in so handy?"

He chuckled, "Touché," as soon as I finished bandaging his arms, he leaned forward without warning and I felt lips brush against my forehead, "Thanks for coming after me."

I tried not to blush as I stood and offered him a hand, "Don't get used to it."

He laughed outright at that, "Sure, sure."

Our new Safehouse was in a snake shaped statue about fifty feet off the ground. And the best part was that the only way to really get up there was on this mega-trampoline thing disguised to look like a mushroom. The gang got a kick out of me turning green from fear getting up there.

Wait.

Hold up.

Did I just say 'our' Safehouse?

I did, didn't I? Ugh, this was getting out of hand. This had to be the last heist. I had to get Uncle John to get the Cooper gang here, before I became any more attached to them. It was getting into the annoying stages, but I definitely still didn't have Stockholm Syndrome, no matter what Sly said.

When Bentley left on his own mission, I finally got my chance. Murray was doing some work on the van and Sly was on the way back from one of his missions, so I had a short window of opportunity.

I took the small two-way radio from behind my ear and pressed the small button Uncle John had showed me and hurriedly replaced it. There was a crackle of static, then I heard his voice.

"Kaia?"

"Hey-ya, Uncle John. Listen I don't have much time."

"Understood, what's your position?"

One thing I loved about my uncle, he didn't beat around the bush.

"Some old temple ruins in a jungle in India. Bentley wasn't very clear, but it's definitely rainforest and it's been pouring out here for the last three days. There's also a giant snake statue there and the temple is in the shape of a giant elephant."

There was silence for a moment, then, "The computer says there's already an operation underway in those particular ruins by Constable Neyla."

"Do you trust her?"

"No." His response was immediate, "She doesn't seem trustworthy at all. I'm not truly convinced that she's even on our side."

"That's what I thought. Something about her bugs me. Keep an eye on her, will you?"

"As much as I can."

"You're going to blow up the dam!" I gaped at Bentley, then immediately entered begging mode, "Can I come? Please can I come? Oh please, oh please, oh please, can I come?"

His eye twitched. I don't think he was expecting that kind of reaction. "I was actually just going to have Sly fire the turret while I fly the helicopter-"

Bentley's computer made some kind of static noise that apparently meant someone was trying to communicate with him via binocucom.

"Bentley! Neyla showed me a way into the spice grinder, I'm going to get the first half of the Clockwerk heart right now."

Bentley ran over to give Sly some info on the structure of the grinder, then turned back to me, where I was trying not to grin too widely, "You can come only if you swear to do exactly what I say!"

After hearing from Sly I had a feeling we wouldn't be the only ones blowing something up.

Getting to the helicopter wasn't actually that hard, even if Bentley did look like he was about to throw up whenever a guard came within a hundred yards of us. We made our way to a large truck and Bentley blew off the back so we could hop in and lift up just as the alarm was raised.

Now, I hate heights, but flying in that helicopter was actually a ton of fun. Bentley flew while I had control of the turret. Rajan had other helicopters and they tried to shoot us down, but I was able to destroy all but one missile, which barely grazed us.

Unfortunately it took a while to blow the dam completely because of the helicopters. I had to keep a majorly close eye on them.

Just when the dam broke and I was feeling so accomplished… Bentley crashed the helicopter into a tower.

I'm not sure whether it's bad luck or good that when the helicopter got stuck in the roof of the tower Bentley and I were thrown into its staircase. It was either that or be stuck on top of the tower with no way down, so probably good.

"Well, that certainly could have gone better. Let's get out of here."

"Urgh… give me a second to make the world stop spinning." I mumbled, clutching at the back of my head. "My poor abused head…"

"How hard did you hit it?"

"Hard enough," I muttered, getting to my feet and starting down the stairs after him, "But in case you haven't noticed, my head meeting solid objects is hardly a rarity."

Bentley shushed me frantically as we approached the exit of the tower. There were a half dozen guards outside, peering up at the top, wondering what had crashed but not venturing into the dilapidated building to find out.

From a compartment on the front of his armor plate, Bentley produced a small, circular device and a remote. He gave me a kind of creepy grin, like 'watch this', and tossed the electronic into the mass of guards. When they hurried around to get a look at the blinking red light on the device, the turtle pressed a button on his remote.

I had no idea something so small could make such a huge explosion.

"Come on!"

Using the confusion to our advantage, we took off, heading back for the Safehouse.

My first sighting when I opened my eyes was the blue-green rock of the Safehouse ceiling. I tried to sit up, but a hand on my shoulder and what felt like a sledgehammer between my eyes soon had me back on the sleeping bag.

"Slowly, Jinx, slowly. I swear, you have the worst luck of anyone I've ever met. Can't you go a week without a head injury?"

"Don't call me Jinx." I muttered, squinting up at Sly. "You're soaking wet. Is it still raining outside?"

"Of course it is, we're in a rainforest!" Bentley snapped from his computer just before the furious sound of typing reached my ears.

"Don't mind him." Sly had leaned further down to whisper in my ear, "He was worried sick about you. Said you hit your head and passed out the second you got back to the Safehouse and probably had a concussion and were gonna go into a coma..."

I blinked up at him, still not quite ready to try sitting again, "I didn't pass out. I just laid down 'cause my head hurt. Then I fell asleep."

He grinned and I wondered if it was the head injury that was suddenly making me feel feverish. "Sure you did. I mean, I wasn't there, I'd blown up the spice grinder just when you two crashed, but the second I got out Bentley hailed me on the binocucom and started going on about how to get to the nearest hospital, which, by the way, is one hundred and six miles from here." His face softened a bit, "Next time you go flying around without a seat belt, wear a helmet, won't you?"

I rested my head completely on the sleeping bag, gave Sly a thumbs up, and yawned. I spent the next few hours finding designs in the cave ceiling, until he woke me again sometime later that night.

"We're going to pull off the heist now." He said, giving me a water bottle and some aspirin. "Watch from here and, when the coast is clear, make a break for the van, got it?"

I flapped my hand at him and snagged the bottle, "Yeah, yeah, I got it." Glorious, glorious drugs.

Aha, another chapter up! Sorry this one is shorter, but the massive amount of drama in the next chapter makes up for it, I swear!

Those of you who have played the game know what I'm talking about. Those of you who haven't, what are you doing here? GO PLAY THIS GAME!

Please Review and God Bless!