Yay, finally an update! I have to start up chapter nine when I'm done with this so be patient. I've given it some thought and if I will be using the original dialogue when I need to. :) I don't own Sly. Never have, never will.

Before we begin I'd like to say that if you can't imagine Faye looking like a house cat, then imagine her looking like a tiger. That is all…

Chapter 8: Dance Practice

Knock. Knock. Sly stepped back from the ballroom door and a pair of eyes peered through a small opening in it.

"Hello, I'm here for the dance," said Sly. A low male voice came from the other side of the door,

"Whuh? Sorry, "Sir" but we have a dress code…you got a tux?" Sly was a little confused.

"Uh…no?"

"Sorry, pal. No tux, no entry!" The small opening shut before Sly. He took a few steps back and brought out his binocucom.

"Sorry Sly, somehow I totally overlooked the need for formal wear. That guy's not going to let you in without a tuxedo," said Bentley.

"Don't beat yourself up Bentley…at a party this ritzy there has to be spare penguin suits around here somewhere," said Sly.

"Try the Guest House, someone may have over packed." Sly was about to put away the device when Bentley said,

"Oh and Sly? Have you seen Faye? She hasn't come back yet."

"No but I'll keep a lookout for her." Sly put up the binocucom and headed for the Guest House, jumping down to the ground below and creeping across the bridge.

Sly walked into the Guest House and brought out his trusty binocucom, unaware of the figure above him on the boards.

"Okay Bentley, I'm in position inside the Guest House, have any Intel for me?" he asked the brains of the gang. The figure above Sly crouched on the beam above him.

"Ah, well, I'd recommend searching all the rooms. It's statistically probable that each should hold at least one portion of a tuxedo," said Bentley. The figure now leaned over the side of the plank smiling.

"What do I look for inside the rooms!" Sly yelled, falling flat on his face. Some kind of weight was on his back and…laughing?

"Faye…" mumbled Sly. Faye was sitting on Sly's back, cat costume and all, laughing hard but not too hard that guards would come.

"Sly?" said Bentley.

"I found Faye," he said into the binocucom.

"You are just too easy Sly," Faye said between laughs. She got off Sly and helped him up. She gave a cracking smile to Sly.

"What have you been doing around here?" Sly asked her.

"Doing what thieves do best," she answered, still smiling, "I put two rhino guards in a coma, see?" Faye pointed to two rhino guards by the Guest House door, unconscious and bleeding a little. "I knocked a jar and snake onto each of their heads. The only guards left are in the guest bedrooms."

"Well at least she's okay," said Bentley.

"Okay Bentley, so what am I looking for inside the rooms?" Sly said into the binocucom.

"This isn't exact science; ransack the place until you find part of a tuxedo," Bentley said a tad annoyed.

"Any plan which involves ransacking is okay with me," said Sly. The raccoon ran off down the left passage and Faye followed. They went to the very end of the hallway and entered the room. Inside was a rhino guard patrolling the center and a goat guard 'sleeping' near the bed. Sly snuck up behind the rhino and Faye behind the goat. In seconds the guards were in a coma.

"No wedgies this time, eh Sly?" Faye said while bashing up the closet with her cane.

'Why'd I have to forget where the article of clothing is?' Sly rummaged through a baggage carrier and found a tuxedo jacket. Faye was at the dresser and found an ocean blue skirt. She folded it up and put it in the pack. They exited the room and did the same thing in the others: take out the guards and ransack the place. When they were down to one room they stopped inside the entrance to it.

"Okay, I've got a ocean blue skirt, flat-heeled shoes, long gloves, and an ocean blue dress and you've got a tuxedo jacket, bowtie, gloves, and a white shirt," said Faye, keeping track of what they had so far. Sly was about to enter when Faye jerked him back by the shirt collar. She pointed to the top of the room where Rajan's bed was. Or at least, it looked liked a bed Rajan would have, but why would it be in the Guest House? It was just another mystery of the Cooper universe.

"It's most likely up there," she whispered. Faye waited outside on a chandelier while Sly went to get the shoes. She laid down on it and waited. She got bored and started saying the first thing that came to her mind.

"What happened so near that seems so long ago? Whether the twilight comes or goes, we march forward. Fate can be denied but only to a certain extent. Fore whom has the power to overthrow its word?"

"What was that about?" came a voice. Faye looked in the direction of the voice to Sly on the ground floor.

"When I get bored, I ramble. 'Nuff said." Sly walked out the door and Faye jumped down to follow.

'What I said did have a meaning. It may seem far but it will come: the aftermath of Anatomy for Disaster.' Faye held back a few tears, thinking of what would come at the end of the journey. She shook the horrible thought from her head as she and Sly approached the ballroom door.

"You got your tuxedo now…'Sir?' …And a dress 'Ma'am?'" asked the doorman, opening the small door.

"Of course we do, we're here to dance," said Sly.

"Then come on in," said the doorman.

Before the ballroom was a lobby. It had three fountains, dozens of plants, stairs leading to the second level, and changing rooms. Sly and Faye changed into their formal wear and walked up the stairs. Sly wore a tuxedo with dance shoes and gloves while Faye wore an ocean blue dress with the skirt underneath, blue flat heeled shoes, and long light blue gloves. The dress went all the way down to Faye's heels, all the way up to her neck, and the sleeves stopped short a little past her shoulders. Sly and Faye walked into the main ballroom. Sly had his right hand placed on his hip and Faye tried not to cross her arms like she normally would. Bentley's voice came from the binocucom as Sly straightened his bowtie,

"Your tuxedo and dress disguises are working perfectly; no one will recognize you in those outfits. Now, during the heist Sly will need to dance with Carmelita to keep both her and the crowd distracted. The only problem is she's picky about dance partners so you'll need to impress her first." Sly and Faye walked down the stairs but Faye stopped halfway with her left hand on the rail.

"Neyla…" Faye dug her claws into the handrail, effectively making a deep gash in the finish.

"I'm just going to sit this out." Sly nodded in recognition and said to Bentley,

"Alright, I know just the girl for the job." He put away the compact binocucom and walked across the room to Neyla. Faye gritted her teeth but stopped, knowing she could blow the heist if she didn't keep her cool.

"I'll keep my temper down, for the Gang's sake," she said to herself. Faye walked down the stairs to the ground floor and made sure she was in earshot of Sly and Dodo-head.

"Constable Neyla you look lovely this evening," said Sly. Faye wanted to barf but held it in.

"I'm sorry do I know you?" Neyla asked the thief.

"I used to chase after you back in Paris."

'So did I. She's lucky I have a strong conscience.'

"Paris? … Sly Cooper?! You aren't by any chance here to turn yourself in? Old Ironsides would fall out of her dress."

"As good as that sounds, how about a dance first?" Sly held out his hand to offer the dance. Faye couldn't believe she was letting this happen. But if the heist were to go as planned, she would have to let Neyla dance with Sly. How else would he learn to dance, from Murray?

"Enchante," said Neyla, taking his hand. Faye solemnly watched as the two danced. Faye crossed her arms a bit and sighed. She could do nothing to stop it.

"Try to memorize the steps," said Neyla.

Step…step…step…

'Fate can be denied…'

Step…step…twirl…

'But only to a certain extent…'

Twirl…step…turn head…

'Fore whom has the power…'

Twirl…step…twirl…

'To overthrow its word? I do…'

"Are you using me to get at Old Ironsides?" Neyla asked Sly.

"Yes, I am…do you mind?" he said.

"Not at all," said Neyla in a comforting voice. They continued to dance and Faye continued to watch. A tear slid down her cheek. It was a trap. Neyla would betray them all. Faye wiped away the tear with her glove and watched. Sly was graceful at dancing. Faye looked to her left and saw Jean Bison and Rajan conversing. Faye held back a small twitch and turned away.

'I don't like tigers. The last one I met almost took my arm off at the zoo. It might've wanted my roast beef sandwich but that's beside the point. At least there are only two levels with him.'

"Excuse me miss," said a deep, elegant voice. Faye turned her head to the left and there stood Rajan. His staff lay beside the throne behind him.

"Y, yes?" Faye asked nervously.

"Would you do me the pleasure of having this dance?" he asked bowing a bit and outstretching his right hand. Faye's eyes widened and she put her hand over her mouth. Faye snuck a peak at Neyla.

'I know how I can humiliate Neyla! I just have to keep calm.' Faye beamed and said,

"Yes." She grabbed Rajan's hand with her left and they walked out to the dance floor.

'If I just think of him as a cat, I'll be alright. A big cat with teeth and power and…aw, look at his tail! It's so cute! Maybe this won't be so a bad after all!' Faye studied the movements of Rajan and, out of the corner of her eye, Neyla.

Step…turn head…step…

'If anyone can change history…'

"Rajan?"

Twirl…step…stomp…

'I can.'

"Yes?"

Step…step…dip…

'If I dance better than Neyla…'

"This is my first time dancing."

Turn head…step…stomp…

'It would be reward enough…'

"But you dance as if you've done it for years."

False step, head turn…step…twirl…

'That's partly true.'

"I've never danced professionally."

Step…twirl…step…step…

"It doesn't matter…"

Step, twirl, step…

"…You dance gracefully."

Step, turn head, twirl, stomp…

Twirl, twirl, twirl…look up…

Twirl, step, dip… The song ended and Faye let go of Rajan's hands.

"That was enjoyable Miss…" Rajan waited for Faye's reply.

"Faytin…Miss Faytin. I have to go see a friend of mine. Thank you," Faye said and she walked off for Sly, Neyla, and Carmelita. Rajan sighed to himself,

"What a wonderful dancer. She's almost as good as the fellow over there." He went back to his throne and talked with Jean Bison.

"Yes, and three is always a crowd," said Neyla as Faye and Carmelita approached.

"Neyla, your friend here is quite an accomplished dancer," said Carmelita.

"I tried to make him look good," said Neyla.

'Where's a blunt object when you need it?'

"Please Neyla, his skills far surpass yours," said Carmelita.

'Thank you Carmelita.'

"Perhaps later you and I might share a dance? Miss? …" Sly's acting was as slick as a spider's web.

"Miss Fox…Carmelita Fox…and I accept," said Carmelita.

'Urge…to…hurt Neyla…rising…'

"I'm sorry Miss Fox but we need to go. Friends of ours are going out for a stroll and have invited us," said Faye. Sly and her walked back up the stairs and out the ballroom doors with their stuff in hand.

While walking back to the safehouse, Sly wouldn't let Faye live something down.

"I saw you dancing with Rajan," said Sly.

"So what?" said Faye.

"I thought you were going to sit this one out."

"I changed my mind."

"So why'd you dance with him?"

"Rajan is a tiger. Tigers are higher in the food chain than I am and quite frankly, I don't want to tick off someone with sharp claws and sharp teeth," Faye stressed her words.

"Any other reasons?"

"Yes, actually. For one, I didn't want to mess up the heist because I refused a dance from a Klaww Gang member. And another, I wanted to humiliate Neyla by dancing better than her." Her voice had one of those 'I'm trying to sound sarcastic but I'm not' tones.

"So by trying to dance better than Neyla you were in fact trying to dance better than me." Sly's voice sounded logical with a hint of sarcasm.

"No, just Neyla," Faye lowered her voice a bit, "Although I would like to do more."

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Just rambling again," she said to Sly. He waited a moment and asked,

"So who asked who to dance?"

"Will you let it die already?!" There was a brief silence as the two were about to enter the safehouse.

"You danced with Rajan," said Sly.

"You danced with Neyla," said Faye. There was even more silence as they entered the cave. Bentley was putting up the projector and Sly and Faye sat down.

"Rajan," Sly whispered to Faye.

"Neyla," she whispered back.

"Alright boys…" Faye cleared her throat loudly, "And girl," Faye smiled, "we're ready for the next phase. My plan to get at the Clockwerk Wings requires the use of the electronic winch above the ballroom. To get control over the device, I'll need to hack the computers in Rajan's boardroom. Plus we'll need an extra strong saw blade to cut the wings off the statue. To make a saw blade that durable, I'll need Sly and Faye to steal gems off the headdresses on Rajan's prized elephants. And finally, I'll take to the field with my remote control helicopter and nullify the palace's surface-to-air defenses. That should clear things up for the heist." The projector shut off as Bentley worked on his chopper, screwdriver in hand. Murray cracked his knuckles in case he was needed. Sly got up and walked out the door. On his way, he passed Faye and whispered to her,

"Rajan."

"Neyla," she murmured back to him before he left.

"Faye, you should go help Sly in the boardroom," said Bentley. Faye nodded her head and said,

"Alright, Bentley. See you in there guys," said Faye. She twirled her staff around like a baton and walked out of the safehouse.

Oy, was this chapter any good? If you confused by what Faye said, don't worry. I was bored and threw in some confusion. It will be repeated at the end of the story and any questions about it should be cleared up. Please remind me to around Jean Bison's level, "Menace in the North, eh?" Otherwise I might forget. Reviewing: your option. Terrorizing Bentley with a bombardment of dumb questions: my duty.