Chapter 9

Tennessee and Carmelita both carefully studied the map of the town Noir had given them. They both needed to break the Cooper Gang out of jail and they needed a way to get in without having to turn their selves in.
Tennessee pointed out to the female fox how they could take a raft and sneak into jail by going down the river.
Carmelita nodded her head in agreement before they both left the hideout. On their way to the docks she found herself wondering about the scene that happened moments ago with Clara and Tennessee. She didn't know why the female raccoon was angry enough to try to shoot the outlaw but one thing she was certain on that the whole situation reminded her of when she confronted Sly at the museum. Both she and Tennessee managed to reach the river where the raft from Tennessee's steamboat heist was left. Carmelita quickly jumped onto the boat and swiftly untied the raft then guided it over to the male raccoon.

"This river is dangerous, but it leads back to the prison. Way I figure it, they won't be expectin' to come this way. You sure you're up to this, Miss Fox?" he warned, wanting to make sure the female fox knew what she was getting herself into.

"That's Inspector Fox, but just call me Carmelita. Thanks for the rescue by the way." she started in a strict tone but changed in a soft and kind tone.

Carmelita was a bit surprised at herself that she had actually warmed up to the idea of people calling her by her by her first name rather than referring to her as Inspector Fox. At first it would annoy her, but the years she spent Sly helped her get used to it, especially after the Kaine Island incident. Quickly she shook her head to stop the process of her memories; she didn't want to remember those years afterwards since Sly was lying to her all along about having amnesia. But she didn't want to admit to herself that it actually pained her heart to block off those memories.

She returned to reality when she heard Tennessee say "My Pleasure. Inspector? You some kind of sheriff. How'd you get mixed up with Sly?"

"It's a long, complicated story. Right now, I need to rescue that ring-tail..." she started before clenching her fist in anger and snarling, "...so I can wring his neck!"

"Hoowee, you are feisty! You remind me of this one little gal who..." Tennessee started with a smirk, fixing to tell how the girl the female fox before him remind him of Clara since they both act very similar.

"What's this prison like, anyway?" Carmelita said, interrupting the male raccoon.

"Uh, well plenty of fire, for starters..." he said, scratching his head in a bit of embarrassment about the fact he was supposed to focus on the mission.

The female fox lifted her shock pistol up, her yellow-gloved hand tightened around the handle up the weapon, making sure she had ammo to complete the job.

"Terrific. Let's get going." she smirked, glad she could finally get some payback on Toothpick's henchmen who helped capture her.

Without another word Tennessee jumped on the raft and began operating the pump handles to get the raft moving.
The male raccoon watched as Carmelita stood firmly near the edge of the raft; her eyes full of focus as she constantly pulled the trigger, shooting guards and destroying TNT barrels as they traveled down the river.
Tennessee bit down on the twig in his mouth hard, trying to resist the urge to stare at the female fox in front of him. He knew he had to get over the fact he found her attractive and feisty. He knew that after he got the Cooper Gang out of jail, he would have to patch up things with Clara.
It took a lot of shooting from Carmelita and a few switches to be pulled by Tennessee, but the two finally managed to reach the prison. They both made their way to the back door where the male raccoon was able to shot the lock on the door open. As they ran into the prison, they had gained the attention of some longhorns that started shooting at them. Seeing this Carmelita stopped in her tracks and began firing at the longhorns.

"You go on, I'll stay here and cover you!" she yelled back at Tennessee as she charged toward the longhorns, ready to take on all of them.

The male raccoon nodded before continuing to run on ahead. He made it to a large area where Sly and his gang was being held in a cage that was suspended above the ground. At that moment Tennessee twitched his ears when he heard the sound of something falling. He quickly turned around to see a large metal door slam close behind him, trapping him inside. Unaware to him up on the prison wall was Jeanette Le Paradox with her hand placed firmly on a wooden lever.

"That should take care of that vermin." she smirked as she watched the guards began surrounding Tennessee.

The outlaw clenched his teeth in anger; his brown eyes glanced up at the cage the Cooper Gang was being held in. When he saw there were four locks on the cage a smirk formed on his face; he knew exactly how to free the gang. Thinking fast he dodged the gunfire being shot out of the guards' guns. He quickly ran around the area, avoiding the many gunfire being shot at him. He lifted up his gun and narrowed his eyes as he began to focus while he was still running. Before the guards could even realize what he was doing, he used his crackshot technique to destroy the locks on the cage. With the locks gone, the cage fell to the ground, knocking unconscious the unsuspecting guards.
Murray grunted as he tossed away the roof of the cage that he caught to prevent it from crashing down on them.
Jeanette snarled in anger when she saw Tennessee successfully freed the game. Without a word she stormed off, planning to a have a talk with Toothpick about a new plan.
Carmelita after she had finished defeating the longhorns, opened up the iron door, spotting the gang waiting for her. She was glad to see Bentley and Murray, but she wasn't glad to see Sly at all.

"Carmelita! Are you alright?" Sly said, relieved to see the female fox was still in one piece.

"I am, no thanks to you!" Carmelita replied with a snarl, "I should leave you in that cage after what you pulled, Sly Cooper!"

The gray raccoon flinched a bit at her words, he could tell that she was still angry at him for lying to her. He wanted to point out to her how she wasn't completely honest either since she had lied to him as well, telling him he was a constable when he pretended to have amnesia. But he decided against it since he knew it would only make her angrier.

"I know! Look I can explain everything." Sly replied, hoping his tone would calm the female fox again.

"Well if it weren't for this handsome and charming gentleman. I wouldn't even be here." Carmelita said as she pressed herself up against Tennessee.

Both of the male raccoons were shocked by this action.
Turns out Carmelita wanted to get back at Sly by using the one thing he had used against her every time to trick her into helping with his heists, and that was jealously. She hid her smile as she watch Sly stare at her dumbfounded; she also liked that she was getting back at him for that one time he made her jealous by dancing the tango with Neyla in India. At first she didn't know it was him. When she found out it was him made her enraged that not only he tricked her, but that he had also danced with Neyla first, making her even jealous than before.

Finally snapping back into reality Tennessee tilted down his hat with his gun as he said "Ah shucks."

The compliment made him both a little embarrassed and flattered; he hadn't expected to get a compliment like that from the female fox.

"Handsome and charming? Really?" Sly started in a confused tone, but he quickly pieced together that Carmelita was trying to use the very technique of jealously that he had used on her quite a few times in life, "Look Carmelita, I know..."

Without warning Carmelita pointed her shock pistol at Sly's face and yelled "Save it, Sly! All I want to know right now is how I get back to Paris!"

Sly said nothing as the female fox lowered her shock pistol and began walking away from him.
Bentley looked between the two, finally deciding he should be the one to ask Carmelita how she got there since it would be unwise to have Sly talk to her.

He wheeled after Carmelita and said "Actually Carmelita, I was more curious about how you got here in the first place."

The others ran after the two with Murray worrying about where Toothpick had taken the van. There was only one other time Murray lost his van and that was in Canada, so the fact the van was once again lost depressed him.

Carmelita had heard what Bentley said to her and replied "It's a long story, Bentley. Let's get moving and I'll tell you."

With that said the gang made their escape from jail. Along the way Carmelita explained about how shortly after the museum heist she had decided to investigate, she had traveled to the back to discover stolen goods, and Cyrille Le Paradox unloading them himself. She was captured before she could react and delivered to Toothpick to be disposed of. Tennessee was a bit surprised to discover the person behind the entire mess was Jeanette's descendant. He thought about telling the gang this but he decided against it, figuring Jeanette might have not known who Toothpick was working for when she convinced the town to make him the new sheriff. Sly kept trying to explain to Carmelita the reasons for his actions, but not matter how much the gray raccoon tried, the female fox refused to listen.

Noir was relieved when he saw the gang return to the hideout safely; he had started to get worried about them.
Tennessee looked around the hideout, but still saw no sign of Clara. His ears flattened against his head at this, he knew that the female raccoon still felt angry and heart-broken. That night Bentley had begun putting together a plan to stop Toothpick when he overheard the armadillo mention how he planned to leave town the day after tomorrow.
Tennessee silently walked around the hideout; he still hadn't seen any signs of Clara. His brown eyes glanced up to see Carmelita climbing down a ladder with the look of frustration on her face due to the fact Sly had tried to give her a rose as an apology. She reached the floor and set the ladder to the side.
When she turned she saw Tennessee and she smiled at him.
Figuring it was the polite thing to do Tennessee smiled back.

"You know I still find it amazing how much of a gentlemen you are yet you're a Cooper." the female fox commented.

"I suppose being a Cooper is a bad thing?" Tennessee replied, raising his brow.

"Well not you at least, Sly is more of the Cooper I don't like." Carmelita said.

"Pardon me for asking this, but what did he exactly do?" the outlaw asked out of curiosity.

Carmelita took a deep sigh as she sat down in one of the chairs; she had Tennessee sit next to her so she could explain. She told him after another criminal by the name of Dr. M had injured Sly when the male raccoon took a shot for her, Sly had claimed he had amnesia and didn't know who he was. She stated how she felt like she was played for a fool when she discovered Sly was lying to her all along; she believed he lied and pretended to love her just so he could avoid being arrested. She quickly fought back her tears; she never did like crying or showing her feelings in public.

"Now he thinks just by saying sorry it can repair the betrayal he did. He broke my heart and I can never forgive him for that." she snarled.

Tennessee took off his hat and ran his black-gloved hand through his fur; he couldn't believe that Carmelita's feeling were almost similar to what Clara had felt when she saw him with the female fox for the first time. Though ecause of this he figured Sly felt miserable about the whole thing just as much as him. He placed back on his hat and stood up, earning a confused look from Carmelita.

"You know, someone once told me that sometimes saying you love a person isn't enough, you have to prove it. I don't think a criminal trying to just stay out of a jail would have taken a shot for you. Maybe he loves you more than you realize." Tennessee said.

The female fox's eyes widen at shock at these words. Before she could say anything the grayish-brown raccoon had already left, leaving Carmelita to think about his words.
As Tennessee kept walking, he decided that maybe it was about time he took that advice as well.

The next day Bentley had gathered everyone for a meeting since he had finally developed a plan.
Tennessee's eyes widen in shock when he saw Clara was in the room too, but it made him a bit upset that she refused to glance at him at all.

"Okay guys we need to work fast, tomorrow Toothpick will try to make a getaway on his train which is being supercharged by the van. The best way we can catch Toothpick is to divert three key switches on the tracks but we will need the keys for the switches and they're being guarded by Toothpick's best men." Bentley explained, "All three guards will be participating in the festival Toothpick dedicated to himself. That's why I took the liberty of signing up Sly, Murray, and Carmelita for the activities. Murray you'll be in the Bare-Knuckle Brawl, Sly you will be in the Toothpick five-hundred, and Carmelita you'll be in the shooting contest. Once you're done Tennessee will divert the tracks while Clara will make sure no one spots him."

The grayish-brown raccoon was shocked when he heard he would be with Clara, but he liked the idea that it would give him the chance to explain himself to Clara.

Jeanette looked around the blimp, a bit confused by all the strange technology surrounding her. She was bit surprise to see Cyrille finally enter the room with his shirt off.
He was bit surprised by the appearance of his ancestor, he hadn't expected her to show up on the blimp so soon.

"Ah my lovely ancestor, I see you decided to look around the blimp." he said.

"Yes, I had finished talking to Toothpick about a small task I wanted him to complete. Now explain to me why are ya shirtless?" she said.

"Oh yes this. See sometimes money isn't quite enough to convince people, I had to use a bit of your persuasive technique to remind a certain female friend of mine who's side she's one." Cyrille replied.

He grabbed his shirt off of the chair and put it back on.

"It wasn't that ugly elephant Toothpick mentioned was it?" Jeanette asked.

Cyrille nearly cringed when he heard that person mentioned before answering "Actually no. True I am manipulating her through flattery as much as it pains me but the person I was just with was a person that can aid me in defeated the Coopers. Though she tends to cling on memories, no matter once her purpose is done I will simply throw her away.

"Glad to see the apple doesn't fall far from the tree." Jeanette commented, proud of her descendant.

Later that day Sly, Carmelita, and Murray managed to successfully get the keys from the guards. Remembering what to do Tennessee took the keys so he could throw the railroad switches. He went into the hideout and got Clara before heading out for the tracks.
Clara said nothing as ran next to Tennessee, all she wanted to do was complete the job without speaking to him. When they made it to the tracks the female raccoon got in her position for lookout, waiting for the male raccoon to complete the task. But to her surprise Tennessee wasn't throwing the switches, instead the male raccoon walked up to her. She kept her back turned toward him, refusing to look at him.

"Clara, before we complete our task, I wanted a chance to talk to you." he said.

The male raccoon firmly grabbed the female raccoon by her shoulders and turned her around so he could face him. He could see the sadness in her eyes and he intended to make that sadness go away.

"Clara, I've been thinking about what you said about proving myself. Well I want to prove myself, Clara I..." he started, but then he noticed Clara's eyes widened.

"Tennessee!" she screamed as she spun themselves around so that they were in the spots where the other previously stood.

The outlaw nearly froze when he had heard gunfire while he had got spun, shortly followed by a pain filled gasp from Clara. His brown eyes glanced down at the female raccoon in his arms and he stopped breathing when he saw Clara's blue shirt starting to get soaked in crimson blood.
The female raccoon collapsed in Tennessee's arm, her breathing was slow and shaky, the life in her eyes was slowly fading away.
Tennessee quickly turned his head frantically, trying to find the source of the gunfire as he clung onto Clara's body. Finally he managed to spot a certain armadillo holding a gun.

"Oh did I hit your lady friend? Too bad she had to get in the way, I was aiming for you. Oh well looks like the Cooper Line is ending either way." Toothpick laughed before running off.

Tennessee wanted to run after Toothpick and beat him into a bloody pulp, but he knew what was important was taking care of Clara. He carefully kneeled on the ground, whispering to Clara how she was going to be alright as he placed his hand on her bleeding wound. Using his other hand he pulled out the binocom Bentley had given him; he needed help to save Clara.

Carmelita was walking around the hideout until she had bumped into Sly; she clenched her teeth when she saw the gray raccoon. She tried to walk past him, but he stopped her by grabbing her arm.

"Carmelita I know I hurt you by lying." he said.

"Hmph. Hurt is a kind term Ring-tail." she snarled.

"Listen you have to let me explain. Carmelita, I..." Sly started, but at that moment he yelped in pain.

Carmelita narrowed her eyes as she watched Sly bend over in pain, folding his arms over his stomach. His eyes were squeezed shut and his teeth were tightly clenched.
The female fox thought Sly was faking it, pretending to be hurt to get her to feel sorry for him.
Sly let out another yell of pain as he collapsed on the floor, his breathing started to become raspy.
That was when Carmelita realized that he wasn't faking it, there was something wrong with him. She kneeled down next to him, silently gasping when she had laid her hand on his shoulder, discovering that the male raccoon was beginning to burn with fever. Without any seconds thoughts she called out for Bentley.
The green turtle rushed into the room, shocked to see his friend in such a state. He pulled out a scanner and examined the male raccoon's body with it, trying to find the problem.

"Bentley, what's wrong with him?" Carmelita asked in a slight worried tone.

"I can't believe it, he's experiencing the side effects of a time alteration! He's being written out of time completely! Something must have happened to Tennessee!" Bentley exclaimed.

Right on time the green turtle was receiving a binocom call from Tennessee; his mouth dropped open when the grayish-brown raccoon told him that Clara got shot by Toothpick and now she was dying in his arms. Bentley now knew why Sly was in his state. If Clara dies that means her unborn child will too, meaning the Cooper line that descended from her and Tennessee wouldn't exist and that included Sly. Before Bentley could saw anything, Carmelita got in front of the screen so she could talk to the outlaw.

"Listen up, Tennessee, you're going to need to use your body to prevent any more blood loss. I will be there as soon as I can with something that will help her. Be sure not to let her lose any more blood or you going to lose her." Carmelita said.

Tennessee nodded in understanding before putting away the binocom. Following instructions held Clara against his chest tightly, but not too tight to hurt her. He could see his orange shirt starting to be covered in the female raccoon's blood, but that didn't stop him from loosening his grip on her. He gently laid his head on her shoulder, listening to her shallow breathing.

"It's okay, Clara. I won't loss you. I won't let you die. You're going to live and when this is all over I'm going to marry you. I can't lose you, not now, not like this. I love you, Clara." he whispered as he nuzzled his head against her's.

For a while it was silent until Clara said in a weak tone "Tennessee, I'm sorry for doubting ya. I'm sorry for what I said. Also thank ya for keeping the promise."

After that the two raccoons said nothing as they waited for help.
Finally a few minutes later Carmelita came running up with a bag. She quickly sat down next to Clara, having Tennessee lay the female raccoon on the ground so she can tend to her. She took off Clara's jacket and shirt before pulling some alcohol out to tend the wound with.
The female raccoon whimpered in pain as she felt the liquid being poured on her wound, she wanted to grab a hold of Tennessee's arm but she felt too weak to do so.
With that done Carmelita pulled out some bandages and began wrapping them around Clara's chest. By the time she was finished the female raccoon had fallen unconscious. The female fox pressed her hand against Clara's neck, feeling a faint pulse.

"You're lucky, Tennessee. She's going to make it." she said as she stood up.

The male raccoon sighed in relief as he once again held Clara in his arms. He was relieved the girl he loved was going to be okay, but he still was going to make sure that Toothpick would pay for what he'd done.