Chapter 6

Tennessee squeezed his eyes shut as he awaited for Clockwerk's talons to sink into his skin. He wasn't sure how much he can protect Clara and their unborn child, but he knew his body wouldn't protect them that much. He continued to cling onto Clara's body, hearing the sounds of metallic wings getting closer and closer.
Before Clockwerk could snatch up the two raccoons in his talons he heard gunfire and more bullets piercing his metal skin. The ancient owl hissed in pain and turned around to see a certain male fox on the roof with his gun ready to fire.

"Sheriff Fox?!" Tennessee exclaimed, shocked to see the male fox.

"Saw the pickle ya'll were in and decided to help out. Just because I'm trying to arrest you doesn't mean I wish death upon you." Wiley explained, "On the steamboat I only shot you to get you to stop running, didn't mean for you to fall overboard."

Tennessee was surprised by this confession from Sheriff Fox. Everyone directed their attention toward Clockwerk who yelled in rage.

"You'll pay for interfering foolish fox!" Clockwerk snarled.

The mechanical owl shot out rings of electricity toward male fox.
Luckily Wiley managed to jump off the roof and dodge the rings of electricity. He landed firmly on the ground, his hand wrapped around tightly the handle of the pistol, ready to fire any second.
Tennessee knew he couldn't let Wiley fight Clockwerk alone so he grabbed his gun and had Clara to take shelter. He quickly ran up next to the male fox with his finger on the trigger of his gun. They both nodded at each other before firing their guns at Clockwerk.
The ancient owl grew enraged as he continued to feel bullets pierce his metallic skin; he knew he would have to fix that in the future to avoid getting so much damage. Clockwerk swooped down close to the ground snapping his beak at the two.
Tennessee managed to duck to dodge the attack while Wiley jumped out of the way. Tennessee's brown eyes carefully studied the mechanical owl flying above him, he had to find a weak spot in order to defeat him.

"Hey, Cooper! There's some flesh on this thing! I think if we fire there it'll be more effective, but it's hard to get at shot with that thing flying all over the place!" Wiley yelled.

Tennessee narrowed his eyes and spotted the exposed flesh; thinking fast he used his crack shot technique to focus on the area and fire.
The bullets pierced Clockwerk's flesh causing him to start bleeding. The mechanical owl narrowed his eyes at the male raccoon. Without warning he charged toward him, swiping his talons at him. Clockwerk's talons came into contact with flesh but to his shock it was not his intended target.
Tennessee stared with wide eyes in surprise, Wiley had seen Clockwerk headed for the male raccoon so he jumped in front of him, taking the blow for him. The male fox clenched his teeth in pain as he held his hand over the giant bleeding gash in his stomach. He fell down on his knees, struggling to keep his consciousness. His breathing was weak and raspy. He looked up at Tennessee with his brown eyes.

"Do me have a favor Ringtail and take down that crazed flying bird." he said through clenched teeth.

Finally he collapsed on the ground losing consciousness.
Tennessee clenched his fists tightly as he turned toward Clockwerk; he knew he had to end this now. Quickly he scaled up one of the buildings, deciding to fight Clockwerk on higher grounds in order to defeat him.
Clara looked at the direction Tennessee had ran off as she ran out to Wiley. She grabbed the unconscious male fox by both arms and dragged him to safety. Clockwerk's words still brought fear inside her heart; she was worried that Tennessee might end up becoming Clockwerk's next victim.
Tennessee ran across the ropes that were connected to each of the roof tops; he glanced back occasionally at the mechanical owl that was still pursuing him at top speeds. Tennessee hooked on one of the telegraph poles with the handle of his gun and quickly climbed up it, that way he could run along the telegraph pole lines.

"You can't run forever, Cooper!" Clockwerk yelled as he increased his flying speed.

Tennessee glanced back to see the ancient owl getting dangerously close, he knew he had to act fast otherwise he would end up joining his ancestors. He jumped on a tall rock, skidding to a stop, dirt clouds firming around his boots. He quickly turned toward Clockwerk, narrowing his eyes at the mechanical bird. He lifted up his gun, focusing his aim on the ancient bird's face. He took in deep breaths as he watched Clockwerk get closer and closer to him. His finger was set firmly on the trigger of his gun.

"Time to light this candle." Tennessee muttered under his breath.

"The Cooper line ends here!" Clockwerk snarled.

The mechanical owl was mere inches away from the male raccoon; his talons were extended, ready to be sunk into his victim's flesh.
Finally Tennessee quickly pulled the trigger on his gun, shooting a well-aimed bullet inside Clockwerk's already shattered eye. This caused the bullet to go straight through the circuitry wires and damage Clockwerk's most valuable and important piece, the hate chip. The mechanical bird shrieked in agonizing pain. That hate chip was the only thing keeping him alive and without it his body would rapidly age until his body reach the proper age since the chip made him stop aging. Clockwerk flapped his wings as he struggled to keep flight but with the increasing pain caused by the hate chip getting damaged was making it difficult. As he started plummeting to the ground he grabbed a hold of Tennessee, planning to take him down with him.
The male raccoon yelped as he felt himself being dragged to his doom by the mechanical owl's talons. He clenched his teeth as is dug his fingers into the dirt, trying to slip his body out of the iron grip of Clockwerk's talons.

Finally with one mighty pull Tennessee managed to pull himself out of the grip of the deadly talons. The male raccoon took deep breaths and supported himself on his hands and knees as he watched the mechanical owl plummet to into the canyons below.

"Cooper, you will never be rid of me! I will hunt you for the rest of your life and if I'm not able to kill you then I will hunt down your children and descendants! I will not rest until I have ended the Cooper line!" Clockwerk yelled in angry.

Tennessee took in a deep breath, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. He had managed to defeat Clockwerk for now, but he knew that it wasn't the end. Clockwerk's words haunted him about how he would continue hunting him until he was dead, meaning that no matter where he goes he will never be safe from Clockwerk. Tennessee managed to stand up despite the fact his legs were shaky and weak from battle he had just went through. He slowly picked up his gun and headed back for town.
Once back in town Clara had run up to Tennessee, hugging his body tightly.

"Oh, Tennessee, ya'll alright!" she said with tears running down her face.

The male raccoon groaned in pain due to the injuries he had received during the battle, but he ignored this pain and continued to let Clara hug him, understanding how scared she was. He turned his head to the left seeing that Noir and Strongheart tending to Wiley. They apparently had come out of worry after Strongheart had seen Clockwerk flying in the air from before.

"Be careful! I just had my stomach cut into by a monstrosity of a bird!" Wiley hissed in pain as Strongheart cleaned his wound.

"You would be wise to mind your tongue unless you are wishing for more pain." the female buffalo warned in a strict tone before purposely rubbing the rag she was using to clean his wound a bit harder than before, making the male fox hiss in pain.

The sheriff blinked his eyes a few times before finally seeing that Tennessee was alright.

"Cooper, I'm surprised ya actually managed to defeat that mechanical bird." Wiley said in shock.

Tennessee swallowed a hard lump that had formed in his throat. But Clockwerk's words were still burned into his memory; he didn't want anyone to know about the fact Clockwerk could possibly come back.

"Yeah he's defeated for good." Tennessee lied, knowing that he would encounter the mechanical owl again in his life.

"I'm just glad ya are safe, Tennessee. I don't know what I've done with out ya." Clara said, nuzzling her head against his chest.

Tennessee rubbed his hand up and down Clara's back, understanding how scared she was. At that moment another important matter came to his mind, the fact Clara was pregnant with his child. He knew that now not only would he be Clockwerk's target, but so will Clara just for being the mother of a Cooper. He didn't want to worry the female raccoon by telling her that Clockwerk is possibly still alive and would be coming to kill both of them and their child; he wanted her to live in peace without having the constant fear that Clockwerk could come for her at any moment. There was one thing Tennessee wanted to show Clara since she would be bearing his child, so without a word he had Clara go back with him to the hideout.
The female raccoon was confused why she had been brought back to the clock tower until she saw Tennessee pick up the Thievius Racoonus that was next to his bed. Clara was surprised by this, but before she can ask Tennessee why he was getting the Thievius Racconus, he silently had his hand raised to have her be quiet so he may talk.

The male raccoon stood in front of Clara, taking a deep breath, he knew he was about to tell her something very personal.

"Clara, if something ever happens to me I want you to give our child this book. It's always been tradition that the child receives the book at the age of eight." Tennessee said.

"Tennessee I don't understand, of course ya'll be around for our child." Clara replied with a frown.

"You don't know that for sure Clara. My ma had no idea my pa would get killed before I would even be born, we can't predict these things. I may or may not be around, but just in case I want ya to do this, promise me that Clara." he stated.

Clara took in a deep sigh, not understanding why Tennessee was talking like that. Finally she laid her hand over his black-gloved hand and nodded her head in agreement. Clara glanced down at their hands; her eyes with the look of being deep in thought.

'Tennessee..." she started as she lifted her head up.

The male raccoon lifted up his head to meet her gaze. They both stared into each other's brown eyes.

"Promise that when ya are ready… that we will marry." she finished.

Tennessee was shocked about Clara had just asked that of him. He hadn't really thought of marriage. It was true he loved Clara, but he still wasn't sure about marriage.
Clara frowned a bit when she saw that Tennessee wasn't responding, making her realize that the male raccoon hadn't thought about the subject at all. With a sigh she let go of Tennessee's hand.

"It's alright, Tennessee. I said when ya were ready, it's alright if you're not ready. I'll will just wait until ya are ready." she said sadly before leaving the hideout.

Tennessee reached out his hand and was about to stop her, but he decided against it and let out a sad sigh as he lowered his hand.

Jeanette silently walked through the streets of town. Her hair dangling in front of her face from how low she had her head hung, she had given up all hope of ever succeeding in bringing the Le Paradox Clan's name to light. She figured if even Clockwerk failed in trying to get rid of the male raccoon, she had no hope of ever getting out of the thief's shadow. Quietly she walked into the saloon and silently sat down at the bar, asking for liquor so she could drown her sorrows in it. Her hand grasped firmly around the liquor bottle, gulping down the bitter liquid, feeling the alcohol beginning to dumb her senses. That was when a male skunk wearing a black coat, tan shirt, a black hat, and black pants entered the saloon. He looked around the saloon until he spotted Jeanette sitting alone at the bar. A smirk grew on his face as he examined the female skunk's body from top to bottom, finding her quite attractive. He silently walked over to the bar, sitting down on the stool next to Jeanette. The female skunk glanced at the male skunk who had sat next to her with her green eyes. The male skunk took off his black hat, revealing his white slicked back hair.

"Well what's a purty thing like ya doing here sitting alone?" he asked as he took her hand.

"I don't want to talk about it." she muttered under her breath, slipping her hand out of the male skunk's.

"Well I think ya are too beautiful to be suffering." he said as he took her hand again and kissed it.

Jeanette felt like snorting at the male skunk; she had seen men like him before and the only thing they ever wanted was to sleep with her for the night and most likely abandon her in the morning. She was about to make him leave until she came up with an idea; if she couldn't beat Tennessee then all she have to do is have a child to teach the family's thieving ways to bring the family's name to light. She smiled at her plan and now with a male skunk before her she had the perfect opportunity to put that plan in action since the Le Paradox Clan had a strict tradition that all of their children must be purebred; any member of the clan who didn't follow this tradition was shunned and outcast. So Jeanette decided to put the plan in action by using her seductive ways.

"My aren't ya the charmer." she said as she brushed her tail against the male skunk, glad she could use that technique since skunks don't mind each other's smells, they just accept they stink.

"Well ya got a sudden change in mood." he smirked.

Jeanette leaned in close, trailing her finger down the male skunk's chest, a seductive smile on her face.

"Well I just happened to just now noticed how handsome ya are. I bet a man good looking as ya could treat a gal like me to a good time." she said in a seductive tone.

The male skunk couldn't help but grin at the female skunk's words; he liked the direction that Jeanette was taking him with. To snap the trap Jeanette grabbed the male skunk by the shoulders and pulled him into a kiss. The male skunk grinned while he kissed Jeanette, thinking about how he managed to reel in a great deal with her. Jeanette pulled away from the kiss, running her tongue across her lipstick covered lips.

"Shall we continue this conversation upstairs in one of the rooms?" she asked.

"Yes ma'am!" he exclaimed.

Jeanette grinned as she grabbed the male skunk by his shirt collar and led him upstairs. She led him inside one of the rooms and locked the door behind her, ready to complete her sneaky plan.

Later that night Jeanette opened up the window to the room; she smirked at the sleeping male skunk still in bed. She had gotten what she wanted from him and saw no further use for him. She could tell by how he was with her that he was going to leave her anyway. Quietly and carefully she climbed out of the window, trying to make sure her dress didn't get caught on anything. She lowered herself to the ground and was fixing to run off until she felt to hands grab her from behind. She nearly stopped breathing, thinking it was a law man who had come to arrest her.

"Ah I am glad you are just as sneaky as you are in the tales I've heard about you." a male french voice said.

Jeanette raised her brow in confusion. She turned around to come face to face with a male skunk with white hair and mustache, wearing a green jumpsuit with a yellow stripe, yellow gloves, and a red scarf.

"Who are ya?" she asked in confusion.

"Ah Kenta asked the same question when I met him. I guess my appearance confuses you no?" he said.

"Wait how do ya know my ancestor?!" she exclaimed.

"Well that is because I'm am Cyrille Le Paradox. I am how you say, you're relative from the future." he replied.

Jeanette's eyes widen in shock; she couldn't believe that the skunk before her was claiming to be her descendant.

"Why are ya here then if ya are from the future?" she asked.

"I came to help you with your problem." he started, "I have a plan that will bring our family name to light, but I shall need your help? Do you accept my offer?"

Jeanette couldn't believe what she was hearing; the one thing she had given up on had now presented her with a second chance to succeed. With any second thoughts she nodded her head in agreement, she would take any chance to get out of Tennessee's shadow.

"Excellent now allow me to introduce you to our partner." Cyrille said.

Out of the shadows emerged an armadillo wearing sheriff clothing. The armadillo lifted his gun in the air before giving a wicked and crazy laugh.