SQ: Alright, I should explain why the summary kept changing. See, I wanted to work on a backup story for Older Faye. I thought my ideas wouldn't work but after much deliberation, they fit and the two last chapters only went through a few minor changes.
Faye: 'Minor' as in small details were added and I got Neyla's camera in the rewrite of the fight. (Holds up camera) It wasn't mentioned in the original version.
SQ: -.- Thank you Faye. We won't get into 'Episode 3: The Predator Awakes' just yet so just hang back and enjoy a little quiet time with Faye, Sly, Murray, and Bentley. Thank you all for reviewing. Oh, and I beat Sly 3 with 100 percent! Now that I have seen Sly 3, I can continue Sly as a Cooper (plus I got a few problems worked out). Time machine! Woot! Go brainiac! Ahem. Unfortunately, I can no longer reply to the reviewers in a story. Sorry for the inconvenience. This is a time filler chapter.
Disclaimer: I don't own Lilo and Stitch's 'E-Arth' thing, Disney does. I don't own Sly. Sucker Punch does. I have no idea if there really is such a thing called the Historic Magazine but I'm disclaiming it anyway until I find out. There I said it. Can I have my cookie now?
Note: I should bang my head on a table for this. Totally forgot that Faye says the 'E-Arth' thing in this chapter. -.- Great. Added a little dialogue to get around it. It doesn't change much. Also, I've noticed that most of these early chapters had sentence fragments here and there or things that just didn't make sense. So, I fixed what I could here.
Chapter 12: Slide Show and a Guest
Heavy gray storm clouds brewed over the sky in the dead of night. High above the ground, two figures stood on either end of a metal platform as a few raindrops sprinkled upon them. Thunder clapped and lightning cracked, revealing one figure to be a female purple tigeress, blind in her right eye, wearing a dark blue tank top and brown shorts held up by a black belt. The other was a female orange striped cat in a black shirt and black sweats. Their eyes were hard to see as colors of the rainbow flickered in their orbs. The tigeress held a yellow glowing whip in her right hand that illuminated the platform near her feet and the cat held a cane in her right hand that rested on the metallic structure. The light of the thunder and lightning left and once again the two were in darkness.
"Finally, I can take you down without any distractions, Neyla," said the glaring cat.
"The feelings mutual, Faye," said the tigeress known as Neyla. Her single-jeweled headdress gleamed as lightning struck miles away.
"You will pay for everything you have done," Faye said threateningly as she gripped her cane tighter. Neyla smirked evilly,
"If you live long enough before I strike you down." Neyla let her wimple fly off into the wind as the rain began to pour. The two warriors stared each other down. Faye cracked her knuckles with her free hand and Neyla growled softly. Lightning and thunder chorused together and the two jumped at each other, claws out as if the final bell had rung at a wrestling match. Neyla swiped her foot at Faye's legs, but Faye jumped and thwacked Neyla over the head, causing her cranium to bleed. Neyla retaliated by cracking her whip at Faye and successfully wrapping it around her body, electrocuting her as screams broke the sound barrier. Faye lunged at Neyla and shocked her as well, forcing Neyla to unwrap Faye and ended up with a gash down her arm from Faye's claws.
"A cat fight is it?" said Neyla. "Fine. Time to put the toys away!" Neyla wrapped her whip around Faye's cane and ripped it out of her hands. She flung both weapons over the side of the platform into the ant-sized people below. Faye watched as her cane dropped into the abyss of buildings and concrete. She turned her attention back to Neyla, gritted her teeth, and bared them at her enemy.
"Oh, I'm sorry. Did your dead friend's cane go bye-bye?" Neyla scoffed with as much sarcasm as possible. "Success comes at a price and it looks like your safety registered up his death."
"You take that back!" Faye screamed, balling up her fists.
"Worthless. That's what friendship is and Sly's cost him his life." Tears streamed down Faye's face, revealing flesh and not fur.
"Sly was one of my dearest friends in this world and you took him away from me! You took them all away!" Her voice quaked but kept its hateful tone, "You mercilessly killed every single one of them!" Faye kicked the traitorous witch in the shins, "This is for kidnapping me!" Punched her in the stomach, "This is for making Rexus, the Cooper Gang, Interpol, me; everyone a pawn in your sick little game!" Kneed her forehead, "This is for killing them!" Swiped her claws, "Carmelita!" Swipe, "Murray!" Swipe, "Bentley!" Swipe, "Sly!" Kick, punch, running tears, trip up, pin down, "And that was for Rexus. The only one who ever understood my pain." Faye stood on top of Neyla who was breathing raggedly. They both breathed hard, trying to get their breath back. Neyla dug her back claws into Faye's back and threw her off to the other side of the platform. Faye slid, leaving her own blood behind, to the edge of the platform and struggled to get up but fell again on the slippery surface.
"And you're next," said Neyla. She ran at Faye, leapt up and came down claws out. Faye rolled out of the way and Neyla slipped, falling off the platform. In a last ditch effort, Neyla grabbed Faye's ankle and dragged her down with her. The frantic teen scrambled to stay on the platform and barely hung on as her claws scratched the surface.
"At least I won't die alone," said Neyla, sinking her own claws into Faye's leg and drawing blood.
"At least you'll die," Faye said darkly. She closed her eyes and with her tears and one final breath, she let go of the platform. The world below was zooming in. Faye opened her eyes as Neyla's claws soon let go. The tiger swiped at Faye but the other worldly guest grabbed her paw and quickly positioned Neyla so that both of the traitor's paws were held behind her and Faye was standing horizontally on Neyla's back. Neyla would be the first to taste the pavement.
"I'll see you soon, Sly," said Faye as she lifted her head up towards the clouds. Neyla chuckled,
"You think it's that easy? I am immortal!" Neyla disappeared then the buildings, sky; everything faded into darkness. Faye was left to fall into oblivion as Neyla's laughter echoed around her. Falling, falling, falling...
Thud!
Faye's eyes shot open into a blur of darkness and something warm was tightly wrapped around her. Creak.
"Faye?" asked a male voice.
"A little help please, Sly," Faye said, muffled by blankets. Sly chuckled as he walked over and started unraveling the lump of covers, starting with the blue comforter. "Ha, ha. Very funny."
"Have a good dream?" Sly started working on the dark blue sheets.
"If you count fighting Neyla on a platform thousands of feet above the ground and falling to your dream-death, then yeah," Faye said with sarcasm. Light finally entered the covers and Faye climbed out of her cocoon with her hair a complete mess. Sly suppressed a laugh but just barely. "What?"
"You've got bed-head."
"Thank you for pointing that out," Faye said, rolling her eyes a little. Sly left for the door.
"I'll be out in awhile," said Faye, getting the covers sorted and putting them on the bed.
"Alright, but hurry up. Murray's making breakfast." He locked the door (from the inside of the room) and closed the door.
"Darn dream. I like the one where she's actually a dodo better," Faye said to herself. She traded her black shorts and shirt for light blue jean shorts and a dark blue shirt that said 'A thief's life for me' above a raccoon pirate thief with an eye patch and peg leg standing on a mound of various treasure from gold to sapphires to diamonds.
"Thank you Thiefnet," murmured Faye as she grabbed a hairbrush from the bedside table and tamed her hair. She made her bed, not that she had much of a reason since the team would be out of Bollywood soon, and stretched. She did some warm up exercises like twisting her torso side to side, jumping jacks, and windmills and located her blue pack. It was right where she left it, next to her bed and sewn-up cat costume. "There's only so long I can patch it up," she reached into the pack and pulled out a piece of rolled up parchment, "And only so long I can hide the truth." Faye stuffed the paper into her right pocket as she approached the door. She unlocked it, took a deep breath, twisted the doorknob, and pulled the door in and open.
"Morning everyone!" Faye said cheerfully, walking to the kitchen table. It was a fair-sized room with a medium-sized television (currently off) on the right side, opposite of the kitchen area. Murray was at the stove, Sly was eating from his plate while reading the newspaper, and Bentley was fiddling around with his laptop and projector.
"I suggest not eating sweets or watching scary movies before going to bed," Bentley said to Faye.
"Yeah, yeah," Faye grumbled, grabbing a seat at the square table and sitting across from Sly. "I didn't watch a scary movie and I didn't have sweets."
"Did you stay up reading the Thievius Raccoonus again?" Sly questioned, lowering his paper and looking at Faye from across the table, raising an eyebrow and giving a smile with his Cooper charm.
"...Possibly," Faye said, folding her hands in front of her on the breakfast table.
"Here you go, Faye," said a hefty voice. Faye looked to see that Murray was on her left with a plate of food. He put it in front of her and took a seat to her right. Bacon, scrambled eggs, pancakes, and a slice of buttered toast sat on her plate along with a fork.
"Wow. Thanks Murray," Faye said as she smiled. She picked up the fork and swallowing some egg. "This is really good."
"So Faye," began Sly, "Where are you from?" Faye stopped eating and paused for a moment.
'Ah, what the heck.' She smiled and said,
"A place called 'E-Arth.' It's the third planet from the galaxy's bright star."
"Faye," said Bentley in a tone that meant 'get serious.' But Faye went on,
"And did you know that E-Arth's surface is covered mainly in water? Fascinating, isn't it?" Faye had a maniacal expression plastered on her face with her big eyes and mouth open revealing her teeth while smiling. Sly chuckled, Murray looked slightly confused, and Bentley shook his head.
"Seriously Faye," said Bentley, glancing up from his laptop.
"Do I have to?" asked Faye, giving a screwed up half-smile. Sly stared at her with a look that said 'Yes, tell us the truth.' Faye sighed and leaned back on her chair,
"I'm from the U.S.A., in a little community leading into a cul-de-sac. I lived near some friends of mine before coming to Paris."
"Sounds like you haven't been here long," said Sly, peering over his paper. "And that you're either joking or lived in some underground community."
"Depends upon your definition of 'long' ...and 'community,'" said Faye.
"Whose turn is it to take out the trash?" asked Murray, gulping down about a pound of bacon.
"I'll do it!" Faye said quickly. She got up from her chair, leaving her plate nearly full, and headed immediately for the trash bin. She tied up the top and heaved it over her shoulder. "Be back!" Faye rushed out the door and slammed it behind her. She walked over to the trashcan down the alley, lifted the lid, and put the bag of trash inside. "Whew. That was close. I think they're starting to suspect something," Faye muttered to herself. She set the lid down and turned back for the door when soft sobbing caught her attention. She turned her torso around to a clutter of trashcans and took a couple of slow steps towards the weeping. Faye moved a can out of the way to see a little female panther crying, huddled in her arms. She looked about eleven years old and was wearing a red sweatshirt, navy blue sweats, and black shoes. Two small straps were over her shoulders so she was wearing a mini-backpack.
"Hello," Faye said softly. The little panther gasped as her head bolted straight up and her brown eyes met Faye's. She gasped,
"You look like the figure in a history book I once read. …Are you a Homo sapien?" Faye's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"Yes. Yes I am," said Faye.
'So even kids know about humans in Sly's world.'
"Who are you?" the panther asked in a curious tone. Faye smiled,
"My name is Faye. Who are you?" Faye said in a soothing voice. The little panther sniffled and rubbed her right eye,
"Natasha."
"What are you doing out here, Natasha?" Natasha calmed down a bit.
"About a month ago I brought a cat to my home. My stepfather won't let me keep her," Natasha sat criss-crossed and revealed a black cat with blue eyes. "Her name is Josie. She's eight months old now and can't fend for herself. I just want her to be safe." Natasha broke into tears again, holding the cat in her arms. "He…he said he'd k, kill her if I came back with her again. So, so I ran away." She held Josie close and curled up into a ball with her tail on the cat. Faye's eyes welled but the tears refused to fall. She knelt down to Natasha's level and put a hand on her left shoulder.
"Did you stepfather even send out a search party?" The panther shook her head 'no' and buried her head inside her arms.
"No one came to find me. In fact, in the newspaper he announced that I had died. He inherited everything my mother had left for me. If anything I just want Josie to be in good hands." Faye paused.
"Well, do you know anyone who can take care of Josie?" Again the panther shook her head 'no'. Faye kept quiet for a moment to think. "Would you like me to take care of her?" Natasha shot her head up.
"You mean it!" she exclaimed. Her eyes sparkled with hope.
"Yep. I love cats. I'll have to persuade my friends to keep her but it probably won't be much of a problem…" Natasha threw her arms around Faye.
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
'Why does this seem familiar?' Guuurgle. Natasha looked down at her stomach and gave a nervous smile.
"Hungry?" Faye asked casually, raising an eyebrow.
"Uh, kinda," Natasha took off her black backpack and unzipped it. She pulled out a slice of bread and tore it down the middle. She gave half to Josie and ate the other half herself. In seconds, the two pieces were devoured.
'I get it.'
"Come with me," said Faye, getting to her feet. She turned around and walked back to the safe house. She stopped and looked back. Natasha hadn't moved. "Come on." She waved her hand and beckoned the panther to follow. Natasha hurriedly zipped up the backpack, put it on, picked up Josie, got up, and followed Faye. Faye opened the door and stood in the doorway.
"What took so long?" asked Sly, taking a glimpse of who opened the door. Murray was done eating already and was setting up a game system, Bentley was done as well and was still fiddling with his laptop, Sly was half done with his meal and the newspaper, and Faye's breakfast sat there exactly where she had left it.
"I met someone," Faye started as Natasha stood next to the doorway, out of sight. "And I was wondering if she could join us for breakfast?" Faye looked away from the Cooper Gang to Natasha. "Go on," she said. Natasha peeked her head inside the room. Faye bent down to her level and whispered something in her ear as she pointed to the plate of food across from Sly. Natasha's eyes bulged.
"Sly Cooper!" She ran over to Sly like a crazed fangirl. "I'm a big fan of your work!" Faye walked over, closing the door behind her. "And that's Bentley, the brains!" Natasha pointed to Bentley, "And that's Murray, the brawn and driver!" she pointed to the pink hippo who was preoccupied with a video game.
"So what, you're a thief too?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"I've tried to be one, but my stepfather wouldn't allow it. He said it would wreck his reputation," Natasha frowned and stroked Josie's fur. "Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot to introduce myself! My name is Natasha Venery and this," Natasha looked at the cat, "Is Josie." Natasha put Josie down on the floor and folded her hands.
"Well Natasha," Sly grinned, "Would you like to spend the day with us?" Natasha's eyes lit up and she fell backwards, fainting in Faye's arms.
"I think that's a yes," said Faye. She picked up Natasha and carried her to her bedroom. "I'll be back." Faye entered her room and set the panther on the bed and covered her up. Josie ran into the room and snuggled next to Natasha. Faye left the room and closed the door to a crack. She turned back to the breakfast table. "I don't get it. When I met her, she was in tears and when she met you," her eyes feel upon Sly, "She was hysterical."
"The Cooper Cure. Works every time," Sly smirked as Faye approached the table. She grabbed the seat in front of her breakfast and sat down.
"I think you really brightened her day, Sly," she smiled.
"Sly. Murray. I need your help with something," said Bentley.
"Anything you want me to do?" Faye asked.
"No, no. I just need them. Go on and finish your breakfast." Bentley hopped off his chair and walked on over to the door. Sly put down his paper, gathered his plate, and put it in the sink. Murray pressed the 'off' button on the console and followed Sly and Bentley out the door. Faye watched as Sly closed the door behind him and chowed down on her frozen food. By the time she was done eating, Murray, Bentley, and Sly were still gone. Faye gathered her plate and placed it on top of Sly's in the sink. Stifled laughter came from her room. Faye looked from the door to her room back to the front door and headed for her room. She peeked inside her room and her eyes bulged. Natasha was sitting on Faye's bed with Faye's laptop in front of her and Josie in her lap. The teenager dashed over and saw that Natasha was reading a document entitled 'Names for that Dodo-Head.' Natasha caught Faye's eyes.
"Oh. Sorry," she half-heartedly laughed. Faye sighed,
"It's okay."
'Thank goodness she didn't read my journal entries.'
"Just who is 'Dodo-head'? Do you have a grudge against her or something?" asked Natasha, stroking Josie's fur.
"Yeah. You could say that." Faye sat down next to the panther. "Her name's Neyla. She's a real pain in the neck." Natasha winced at the traitor's name.
"Ooo… I see why you have a grudge against her." Natasha added 'sneaky double-crosser' to the bottom of the list. "A cousin of mine was tricked by her into doing her history homework at an exclusive British university. He said Interpol offered Neyla a job after her homework ring was busted."
"They believed she could 'get inside the head of the criminal element,' right?" asked Faye, giving a partial disappointed smirk.
"Yeah. How do you know?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.
"It's a long and confusing tale," sighed Faye. "I don't even have all the details yet." She put her right hand on her forehead and shook her head. "To put it as simply as possible, Neyla's the reason I became a thief. However, the way she did it used me as a pawn in her sick n' twisted game just like everyone else. The only good thing that's come out of this is that I was able to meet and join Sly's gang." She took her right hand off her temples and grimaced. She seemed lost in her thoughts as tears welled in her eyes. "So far, everyone and everything has betrayed me from a fellow contestant at Dimitri's Sing-Off to the Internet."
"You were at Dimitri's Sing-Off?" Natasha asked in an astounded tone. Faye nodded her head yes. "Who were you?"
"Destiny," she sniffed. Anger and sadness of deception hid behind Faye's eyes.
"You were Destiny? But she was a tiger," Natasha said with confusion in her voice.
"Cat. Striped, orange cat costume," Faye said solemnly. She picked up the sewn-up cat costume off the ground and showed it to Natasha. The little panther took it and held it in her hands.
"No way!" Faye gave a half smile and wiped away her tears with her right arm,
"Yes way," Faye shuddered, "Dimitri touched my hand. Do you have any idea how creepy it is to have Dimitri the Lounge Lizard touch your hand?"
"Um…no. And there's no way that you could be Destiny."
"Wanna bet?" Faye raised an eyebrow in challenge. She had stopped sobbing and was now in her usual mood, though she held her true thoughts and emotions to herself.
"Only the real Destiny could sing 'Future' the way she does," Natasha said as she crossed her arms. Faye cleared her throat and began,
"Seeing the future isn't so bad.
You can see what's to happen and what's to be had.
I've seen the rise of a righteous band
And the fall of a 'prestigious' man," Natasha joined in,
"I've seen the destruction of a wicked bird
But you wouldn't believe it if you heard.
Because the future can be hard to believe
But the time has come close for my prophecy's eve."
Natasha gasped and said quietly,
"You are Destiny…But I thought you said your name was Faye?"
"It is. Destiny was just a name I came up with to enter the contest. Thing is, the Klaww Gang's out for me and I didn't want to get caught," she explained.
"You…went in under Dimitri's nose…?" Natasha suddenly burst out laughing, "You…you fooled them good! Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!" She rolled off the bed in laughter, pounded the floor with her fist, and continued laughing. She soon calmed down and wiped a tear of delight away from her right eye. She had laughed so hard that she had cried.
"Yeah…" Faye chuckled a bit as she trailed off.
"You. Are. Awesome!" Natasha's eyes were full of amazement as she popped back up to Faye's eye level, "A friend of mine showed me a video she shot of the Sing-Off before I ran away! I loved you on stage! You totally rock!" she said rather quickly, pumping her fists in the air. Faye was still trying to process the words through her mind when Natasha brought out a picture of her on stage singing from her backpack.
"Can you autograph this for me?" she pleaded.
"I don't have…" Natasha hastily pulled out a pen from her backpack and held it out to Faye, "…a pen. Thanks." Faye took the pen and wrote 'Destiny' in the lower left-hand corner. It hadn't been too long since the Sing-Off and she was already giving out autographs.
Faye smiled warmly as she handed the pen and picture back to Natasha,
"You sing wonderfully." Natasha looked up from the signature and her eyes were lit up again,
"Really!"
"Yep." Faye glanced at the doorway then looked Natasha squarely in the eye. "I'm about to tell you something not even Sly, Bentley, Murray, or Inspector Carmelita Fox know."
"You mean the policewoman who always chases Sly?" Faye nodded 'yes'.
"The only ones who do know about it are the Klaww Gang, Neyla, and me. Now you can't tell anyone this. Understand?" Natasha smiled and nodded,
"Uh huh. I'm really good at keeping secrets!"
"The thing is," she took a deep breath, "I'm not from this world."
"What?" Faye took out the schematics from her pocket and opened them.
"It's called the 'Dimension Disrupter'. I stole them while at Rajan's palace. He's a member of the Klaww Gang," she added as if answering an unasked question.
"I know. My stepfather had their profiles. I heard they had the Clockwerk parts. …Are you and Sly taking them down?"
"Yep. Heh… You're sure knowledgeable."
"Thanks. I've looked at a lot of my stepfather's reports." Faye lifted an eyebrow,
"Your stepfather works at Interpol?"
"Yeah. He said thieves were dirty, rotten, double-crossers that would rather steal your money than your time. He was confusing at times." Natasha shook her head and looked back at Faye. "So are you really from another world? But that's impossible!"
"Hard to believe, I know. I have to show Bentley so he can decipher it." Natasha bent down closer to the paper.
"…It looks like the Clockwerk wings."
"What?" Faye's eyes widened a bit.
"From here it looks like the Clockwerk wings." Faye flipped the blueprints around and sure enough a part of the schematics looked like the Clockwerk wings.
"No way…" Faye looked the paper over carefully and found several figures that looked like the Clockwerk heart, lungs, stomach, eyes, and talons. "Then this means the entire thing is made of Clockwerk parts," Faye spoke low and slowly. She held a bewildered look as she was taken aback by the new discovery. "Then…Clockwerk's power was used to bring me here. …And his power…must have gone through me." Faye held her hands up to her face. She whispered to herself, "She was right."
'I feel sick.'
"But ripping the space-time continuum is only a theory. There's no way it could actually be possible." Faye peered up.
"Historic Magazine. Future possibilities issue," Natasha stated bluntly. Faye held her stomach and shuddered. Natasha frowned,
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah…Just sickened," Faye said hoarsely. "I…am going to kill Neyla."
"Isn't that a tad rash?"
"Not for what she's doing and done. Ugh… I can't let her get away with it." Faye lay down on the bed as her eyes fluttered shut. "I need to lie down."
/-/-/-/-/-/-/
Faye stood in a lone spotlight in the otherwise pitch-black space.
"Hello? Older self? Faye?" her voice was captured by the darkness and barely echoed. Another spotlight came on and revealed Older Faye.
"Yes?" answered Older Faye.
"The Dimension Disrupter. It really is entire run by Clockwerk parts," Faye shifted her eyes to the floor.
"It's hard to take in. I didn't completely believe it at first either. I was exposed to Clockwerk's energy on more than one occasion, counting when I was brought to Sly's world." Younger Faye looked up,
"What? How, when?" Older Faye held concern in her eyes.
"I shouldn't tell you." Younger Faye held her hands tightly together near herself as her eyes pleaded to know what happened. "It would be better if I showed you." Older Faye waved her hand across the darkness and in a bright flash they were inside a building. They floated above near the rafters, but were standing as if on solid ground. Below were Dimitri, Rajan, the Contessa, Jean Bison, Arpeggio, and Neyla. Countless wires and tubes led to a containment capsule leaning on the wall. The Clockwerk wings were attached to the sides and the Clockwerk eyes were seated neatly on the inside. If there were any other Clockwerk parts, they were unseen. Next to it was a console that was most likely used to control the container's settings.
"So when is that little brat going to get here?" Jean asked impatiently.
"Patience Jean. Not everyone can traverse the ice fields as well as you," said Neyla, glaring at him briefly.
"Ah! Here comes the kitty-cat now!" said Dimitri. A young Faye walked into the room with a serious expression on her face. Younger Faye gasped as she stared at her alternate self.
'Unbelievable!'
"Greetings Faye," welcomed Rajan.
"So good of you to come," said the Contessa as she put her hands together.
"It's time to get down to business. Faye, it has come to our attention that in your current condition you cannot help us take on the Cooper Gang," Arpeggio announced to the alternate Faye.
"Stop," the alternate Faye said sternly, "I have to ask: what are you really doing with the Clockwerk parts?"
"We told you dear," Neyla walked up to Faye and put her paw on the girl's shoulder, "We were doing it for the…" Faye pushed off Neyla's paw.
"'Good of the world'? Then why keep them? Why not destroy them like the Cooper Gang wants to?" The Klaww Gang looked at one another.
"You have to understand…" Faye interrupted Neyla.
"I understand perfectly. You're using me to get to them. Well not anymore." Faye started to turn and walk off.
"I really shouldn't have done that," said Older Faye. Younger Faye glanced up to her then back down beneath her. Arpeggio had opened the chamber and Jean Bison was approaching Faye.
"No one leaves the Klaww Gang," said Neyla. Jean grabbed Faye by her arms and lifted her off the ground. He turned around as she kicked and screamed,
"Let me go! You won't get away with this!"
"Oh but we already have," said the Contessa. Jean roughly pushed Faye inside the capsule and slammed the door shut. The Contessa pressed a button on the console and something clicked from inside. She smirked as she began pressing buttons and pulling levers on the console. Faye pounded on the door, but it wouldn't open.
"I swear this isn't over! You won't kill them! I won't allow it!" she yelled. Faye kicked the door then tried ramming it with her shoulder.
"You'll never get the chance," Neyla said. She turned to the Contessa, "Do it." The hypnotherapist pulled a lever and Faye let out a bloodcurdling scream as Clockwerk's energy surged through her. Neyla smirked as the screaming soon stopped and the image faded out.
"The machine aged me three years older within the next few days," said Older Faye. Younger Faye looked up. "…giving me the knowledge I needed and taking away what I had learned. It took Bentley to jog my memory. Now you're going to have to wake up soon so there isn't much time left."
"Before I wake up and I go back to the real world, or whatever it is," Younger Faye said quickly, "can I ask one last thing?"
"What is it?"
"For the sake of less confusion, can I call you 'Yami Faye'?" Older Faye crossed her arms,
"'Yami'? You mean dark?"
"Yes. It gets confusing cause you look older but you're just the same age as me."
"Actually I'm fifteen, but you have a point." Older Faye searched the ground for a moment and stood up straight. "Sure, you can call me Yami Faye. Or Yami for short. Now, you've got to go."
"Alright. Bye Yami!"
"Goodbye…" Everything faded into a flash of white.
"Faye… Faye. Faye, Sly's here!" Natasha's kind voice rang out. Faye opened her eyes and a gray blob was in the bedroom doorway. Faye rubbed her eyes and focused.
"Oh. Hi Sly," she said. Faye sat up and stretched her arms out behind her. The laptop beside her was off and closed shut. The Dimension Disrupter schematics were barely sticking out the side of the compact computer. Natasha was standing next to her bouncing up and down on her toes impatiently.
"Come on, come on, come on!" She grabbed Faye's hand and pulled her off the bed. "Sly wants to show us something!" Sly exited the room as Natasha pulled Faye along.
"Alright, alright. I'm coming," Faye chuckled. Inside the living room, Bentley was sitting at the breakfast table with his portable projector pointed at a projection screen where the television used to be. The television itself was sitting on the ground. Bentley connected a small object to the projector and grabbed a seat on the sofa next to Murray who was scarfing down a bucket, a literal bucket, of popcorn like it was the only food left on Earth and all life would end the next day. Sly flicked off the light switch and leaped up on top of the sofa as Natasha excitedly sat beside him beaming. Bentley and Murray scooted over to make room for Faye in the center. Bentley pressed a button on what looked like a small remote and a picture of the sleeping guards from Rajan's palace Faye had taken were in front of the group. Bentley, Murray, and Sly snickered and Natasha laughed out loud as Faye said,
"So I take it this is a slide show of last-minute replacements for guards injured by an atomic wedgie?" Natasha held her stomach and leaned backwards, nearly falling off the couch. Sly laughed and said,
"Not exactly. Keep watching." Another picture came up, this time of Dimitri typing in the code for the underground pump room.
"He never knew I was there," commented Sly. The little panther watched with anticipation and tried to stop laughing.
"You'd think those guards could see farther than their flashlight's distance," said Faye.
"Actually, some of them are short-sighted," explained Bentley. The brainy turtle pressed the button again and a third pic came up on the screen. This time it was of Faye leaning against a building overlooking the ocean. The next one was Faye looking at the person who got the last picture. The next ones came faster until it was like a movie. The Faye on screen held her mouth open agape and started making hand threats as if to say 'stop taking my picture or else!,' 'stop it!,' and 'that's it!' Faye had soon tackled the person taking pictures as the pics soon showed. It was an overhead view of Faye holding the camera, but it had gone off so it showed Sly on the ground as the one who took her picture. The next pictures were from the top of the building Faye had been leaning against. Someone had taken multiple photos of Faye wrestling with Sly to keep him away from the binocucom. Faye fell into the bay, but grasped Sly's tail so he fell in too.
"Good thing the water was shallow," commented Sly.
"I swear you're all out to get me," said Faye as she crossed her arms and gave a screwed up smile. The next slide was of Faye singing 'Future' on stage back in Dimitri's nightclub. The angle was obviously from a thief's point of view since a normal person couldn't get an above shot without being noticed.
"Oh my gosh! That's you!" Natasha squealed in excitement and began biting her nails. Faye's eyes shifted to Sly.
"You did that, didn't you?" she glared. Sly grinned.
"You were great up there. There's no need to be embarrassed." Faye blushed madly and returned her attention to the screen which already had another pic up. It was of Sly dancing with Carmelita from a high view. The only one who could have gotten that shot was Murray. Sly seemed amused at this and simply smiled.
"I see you enjoyed your mission, Sly. Thanks for getting the shot Murray," said Faye.
"So I take it you weren't in the ballroom the whole time?" asked Bentley.
"Yeeeaaaaah...I scraped with an enemy of mine, remember? I got in the fray before the song was half over."
"Who did you get in a fight with?" questioned Sly.
"A very evil person. Let's just leave it at that," said Faye as she recalled the encounter.
"You're a pitiful excuse for a thief."
'Am I really a thief? I've done nothing to contribute to the team. …I've got to do something; I've got to try harder to be a better thief.'
Click. Faye looked up to see that the next slide had come up. It was herself dancing with Rajan.
"You danced with Rajan?" Natasha asked in an astounded tone.
"Uh huh. You just love torturing me, don't you?" Faye peered over at Sly.
"I'm not the one who took that picture," he replied. Faye, Natasha, and Sly stared at Murray and his nearly empty bucket of popcorn.
"What?" he asked with his mouth full. They stayed quiet and turned back to the screen.
"How do you know about Rajan?" Bentley inquired Natasha.
"My stepfather works in Interpol," she said bluntly. Bentley and Sly's eyes widened and Murray choked down some popcorn and exclaimed hoarsely,
"What?"
"Hey, Carmelita works in law enforcement. Why be agitated by someone working at Interpol?" Faye asked, using logic to coax the guys out of their shocked state. It seemed to work as Sly, Bentley, and Murray shook it off.
"Let's continue," said Bentley. He pressed the button again and the next slide came up. It was of Bentley playing Black Jack back in Monaco.
"Fifty-two games in a row," Faye murmured.
"Man Bentley, you dominated everyone!" Murray said loudly. Multiple slides went by of Carmelita, Sly, Bentley, Murray, various guards, the Klaww Gang, and a wedgied guard. Everyone laughed out loud and Natasha fell off the couch. Murray guffawed, Bentley fell on the back of his shell, and Sly tried prevented himself from following Natasha in rolling onto the ground. Faye covered her eyes with her right hand and didn't see the next slide come up until she unmasked her eyes. But her reaction wasn't joyous. Tears welled in her widened eyes as she took in the freeze frame. It was Rexus talking to her back at Rajan's palace. Faye hid her trust broken by him behind her eyes and got up.
"I…need to get some air." She exited the room into the mid-day light.
"Faye..." Sly started but she had already shut the door. The light blinded her for a moment as she climbed a nearby fire escape. At the top, Faye hung her feet off the edge of the building. Everything was getting to her: Neyla watching her every move, how stupid she had been to leave evidence of her identity around, being used as a pawn, the feeling of never seeing her home, friends, or family again, Rexus betraying her, knowing that the Klaww Gang wanted her to kill the Cooper Gang. Everything.
"I wish I could just reverse it all," she said quietly to herself.
"Don't give up," called out Yami Faye's voice.
"Why not? There's nothing I can do to…"
"Yes there is! Don't give up! It's not like you to just give in and quit! You have the power; the will to help stop the Klaww Gang! You are their weakness! You can help the Cooper Gang!"
"How? I'm just…"
"No! You can make the difference! Or do you want it to end this way, sulking about what you can't change? You may not be able to reverse what happened, but you can prevent the False reality! Not just for Sly and his gang but for Carmelita, Natasha, and everyone else who lives in this world whether they're young, old, smart, or ignorant. It's your knowledge that can turn the tides of Fate!" Faye took it in and thought for a second. She stood up with a broadening smile on her face.
"You're right, Yami. I'll do it. I can overthrow Fate. Yeah!" Faye pumped her fist into the air and put her hands on her sides. She climbed back down the fire escape and Sly met her at the bottom.
"Are you okay?" he asked her. Faye beamed back,
"Of course I am! I said I just needed some fresh air." Sly grinned back and they walked back in to finish the slide show.
SQ: Sorry if it seemed to end abruptly, but I wanted to get this up before New Years. I think there was more dialogue than anything else in this chapter. …I was out of whack with my Writer's Block okay? I was working constantly for new ideas. Now that I think about it, why didn't I just start off in Episode 3? …My brain is very complicated. I figured if elephants could roam around Rajan's levels and Murray could eat a hamburger then Faye could have a pet. (Thunks head on desk) Unfortunately that pet came with Natasha. Oy… She came out of no where when I thought this chapter up.
Natasha: Hello! I can't believe I got to hang out with Sly! (Faints)
Faye: (Catches Natasha) I've got her.
SQ: Thanks Faye. And now I have to rethink the scenes I had in mind so hang on for sudden stops in the story. I drove over my writer's block with a steamroller twice to get this up, seriously crushing it to no end. Which is probably why Natasha came up when I was fighting it off with a flamethrower. Now that this is out of the way there won't be many stops unless something comes up. Until next time, please review if you have the time!
Faye: Keeps her sane. See you later.