I am sorry for a lack of updating. My parents have been making me do stuff with the family instead of working on pleasing my fans. I did have fun, but I couldn't work on anything. Anyway, this is probably the longest chapter I've done for this story and I hope to have more chapters like this up.
I don't own Sly Cooper.
It took several days before the Cooper gang arrived at the same jungle Crystal was at. They made their safe house on the other side of the jungle from Crystal's own safe house. It only took a few minutes for Sly to run out of the safe house and go out on a mission. Crystal watched as he ran into the thick jungle before turning and running the other direction. After a while, she found a few guards and snuck up behind them. Hiding in the tall grass, she let out a tiger like roar, scaring them. The two rhino guards ran in circles screaming before crashing into each other at full speed then passing out. Crystal laughed as she came out of her hiding spot, shaking the debris out of her fur.
"Well that wasn't very nice." Crystal looked up to see Sly on the roof top of a flat house.
"You would have done it too." She retorted as she jumped up on the roof with him. "It's about time you and your gang showed up anyway. You probably figured about Rajan's second Clockwork piece already right?"
Sly nodded. "Clockwork's heart. The place's well guarded."
Crystal nodded. "You can sometimes hear that blasted heart beating in the middle of the night." She snarled, her claws peaking out in anger.
Sly smirked. "Offer still stands to help us."
Crystal gave him a smile of amusement. "My rule still stands. I'll help, but only if I'm needed and as long as I don't get to distract Rajan again." She hissed at the mention of Rajan.
"Still can't get over what happened at the dance?' *hiss* 'Ok. Ok. Shesh. No need to hiss."
"I'll be sticking around 'til I find where the next part is. So if you ever need my help or find out anything…just come find me." Crystal told him as she turned and began to walk away.
"Can I at least have a hint?" Sly called after her.
The snow leopard smirked. "Even the oldest of books have secrets." She told him before jumping into a tree and climbing into the branches.
XxX
It took a few days before Crystal interacted with the Cooper gang again. She had been caught up in her research for Clockwork parts to get out and see what they were up to. She noticed lots of activity by the temple so she went to investigate. As she arrived at the temple grounds, she saw Sly run past her with a guard on his tail. He turned his head slightly and winked at her as he shot past. Crystal turned back and jumped through the trees. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a member of Sly's gang, Murray, arrived and put a pair of binoculars up to his face after stepping outside their safehouse.
"Murray, you're on. Sly's knocked the ruby loose and now we need your muscle to get it to the buyers." A voice said through the device. Crystal remembered it was Bentley.
"Muscle on the way!" The hippo cried out in confidence.
"One more thing Murray. Sly told me that an old ally of ours is nearby and I'm sure that she'd be glad to help us." Bentley said before hanging up.
"And who would that be?" Murray wondered out loud as he put his binocucom away.
"Figures Cooper'd want me involved in all this." Crystal said as she announced her presence. She jumped out a tree she had hidden in and landed next to the large hippo. "I don't think we formally met. I'm Crystal Feline. Thief."
"I remember you. You were with us when we escaped with the Clockwork wings. It's nice to finally talk to you face to face. They call me 'The Murray'." The hippo said as he flexed his muscles.
Crystal smiled. "A pleasure. Now, shall we begin?" Both then took off towards the ruby at a fast pace, taking out any guards in their way. They arrived at the ruby after a few minutes and Murray picked it up without much of a sweat. Just as he held it over his head, his binocucom began to buzz. Crystal grabbed it for him and held it up to his eyes.
"Hey Murray. I see you met up with our friend there." Sly's voice said through the binocucom. "Anyway, despite its size, that rock is really fragile. Bentley will run ahead and inflate cushions that are safe to through the ruby on while Crystal will help protect you from guards. Now head out the the rendezvous near the waterfall." Sly said before hanging up.
A familiar turtle ran up to them in a hurry as Crystal put the binocucom back. "Alright you two, let's get going." Bentley told the two before turning and running ahead once again.
"He seems tense." Crystal said as the two walked behind.
"This is our first year out in the field." Murray explained.
"That explains it." She replied as she watched Bentley blow up the gate in their way. The three went at a fast/slow pace as Murray carried the ruby. The encountered no enemies so far but a few times Murray had to throw the ruby on a cushion to jump across a destroyed bridge. As the group neared the waterfall, a mysterious figure exchanged a few words with Bentley before disappearing.
"Come on. We can head to the buyer now." Bentley told them before taking off once more.
"So what do you need exchange this ruby for?" Crystal asked Murray, seeing that Bentley was already far ahead.
"Apparently it's for a bomb we're gonna use to blow up the dam." The hippo explained.
"Nice. He's sure not to enjoy that." Crystal said with a small laugh. As Murray through the ruby across a small gap, a few guards spotted them. "I got them." Crystal said as she unsheathed her claws. She raked them across a monkey. She quickly ducked to avoid a hit to the head and shot her legs out causing the rhino to drop to the ground. She slashed at one more monkey quickly, causing it to fall into the river below them.
"Hurry up. The probably called for reinforcements!" Bentley called to them.
Murray made it the other side of the gap and picked up the gem again. The two followed Bentley for another few minutes with only one other guard encounter. As they neared where the buyer was waiting for them, Crystal couldn't help but feel like they were being watched. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of bright color against the dark of the forest. Crystal paused as the others went ahead and stared at where she saw the flash of color. She waited another moment and saw a small flash of orange against the tree tops.
Was that Rajan? Or did the cops find us? She wondered. Her right ear twitched followed by her left ear before her right ear began twitching madly. Her eyes widened at this reaction. "Something's wrong." She muttered under her breath. "It's been great doing business with ya boys. Make sure Rajan gets his fur wet for me." She said before running and climbing into the trees.
XxX
BOOM!
The ground shook as Crystal got back to her own safe house, the made stripes in her fur gone for her natural spots due to the amount of rain. She quickly gathered her things before charging out and to the trees once more. As she swept by Rajan's spice temple, she noticed a vulture watching the destruction.
They aren't found around here. Crystal thought to herself as she snuck up behind the bird. She let out a small growl before tackling the bird into the side of the tree it was perched in. "What are you doing here?" She growled as her hand wrapped around its neck. "Who sent you? Are they still here now?!"
"I…I won't talk." The bird got out despite the pressure on his neck.
Crystal smirked, allowing her teeth to show and her eyes glowed in the dark of the trees. "You do know our predicament right? Vulture. Snow leopard. Bird. Cat."
The vulture's eyes widened in fear at where she was going. "Ok. I'll talk. We were sent here to apprehend the Cooper gang." The guard whimpered.
"Who sent you?" Crystal growled darkly.
"It-it was The Contessa. She was given this location from an Interpol agent, Neyla." Crystal's eyes widened and she took her hand away from the vulture's neck.
"Neyla…NEYLA!"Crystal screeched into the wind. With a loud roar, she leapt off the branch and streaked through the trees towards the sounds of fighting. She snarled as her legs jumped from branch to branch. That traitor! I have to get them out of here. She ran to the sight of the flooded temple and searched for signs of the Cooper gang.
Suddenly a familiar voice shouted. "Can you hear me? I said Sly's hurt!"
Crystal's eyes widened. "Murray." She sped through the trees towards the voice of the hippo. As she arrived, she saw both Murray and Sly, who was lying on the floor of the small chasm wounded, and Carmelita, Neyla, and a large spider at the top of the pit.
"There they are Contessa, just as I promised. The Cooper Gang and Rajan all incapacitated." Neyla told the spider with pride in her voice.
"Excellent police work Constable Neyla. Carmelita's never been able to catch the Cooper Gang, yet you capture them in just a few short weeks." The Contessa told her.
"Well I never-!" Carmelita growls.
Contessa cut her off."Really Carmelita, accept your defeat gracefully."
"Actually Contessa…there's a good reason Inspector Fox never caught the Cooper Gang… she's been in league with them the whole time!"
Carmelita's eyes went wide. Crystal growled from the trees, anger in her eyes at her former friend.
"Lair! Prove it!"
Neyla smirks and shows a picture of Sly and Carmelita dancing at the ball back in Rajan's palace.
"This is a photo of Carmelita dancing with Sly Cooper on the night the Clockwerk Wings were stolen."
"But… I didn't know I was dancing with Cooper!"
Contessa took a moment to look at the picture before giving the female fox a glare.
"You two certainly seem very… familiar in this picture. Men, place Inspector Fox under arrest."
Eyes widened around them as Carmelita was dragged away and arrested. The vultures led her towards the jungle and towards a hidden figure. Bentley was hidden nearby and was close to being discovered.
Crystal jumped onto a higher branch, one where she could be seen, and let out an ear splitting roar. "NEYLA!" She roared as her claws slid out. Everyone turned towards her, Neyla's own eyes wide in hidden shock, not expecting Crystal to show up. "You traitor!" She snarled before releasing another roar.
"It seems we have more company. After her." Contessa ordered. With a final glare, Crystal turned and jumped down into the trees once more. She jumped through the branches, quickly losing the guards chasing her to fight off the vegetation in their way on the forest floor. Turning on her heel, she ran back to the temple only to find it abandoned, Sly's cane remaining. Crystal approached the cane and grabbed it.
"This is not how I wanted things to happen." Crystal said under her breath. She tightened the grip on the cane and walked in the direction where Bentley fled. She barely walked an hour until she came across the turtle. "You ok?" She asked.
"Gah!" Bentley yelled in surprise at her sudden appearance.
"Sorry." Crystal handed Bentley the cane. "I just came to give you this."
"Uh…thanks." Bentley said as he accepted the heirloom.
Crystal gave him a calm smile. "You can trust me you know. I may not seem like the friendliest cat in the world but I wouldn't hurt any of Cooper's friends."
Bentley crossed his arms. "And why's that?"
Crystal's ears twitched and she spun her head at where she came. "The guards are coming back this way. We're gonna have to make a fast get away."
"The team's van too far away." Bentley said with panic in his voice.
"Guess we have no choice. Sorry 'bout this." Crystal told Bentley before picking him up and placing him on her back. "Hang on tight. We're going to the trees." Unsheathing her claws, Crystal climbed a nearby tree with little effort just before the guards appeared. "Which way to your van?" She whispered.
"Its a few miles in that direction." Bentley replied pointing straight ahead.
"We'll be there in no time. Until then read the book that's in my bag. You'll trust me after reading it." It was a risky move showing him the book but she had no choice. She felt Bentley reach into her bag and grasp onto the familiar surface of the book. She felt a small intake of breath as she began to walk along the branches away from the guards below them. When they got far enough away, Crystal jumped down to the forest floor and began walking again, Bentley reading the book on her back. About an hour into the walk, soft snoring could be heard from behind.
"Poor guy. Today must have drained him emotionally." Crystal said to herself as she turned her head around to look at the sleeping turtle, surprised to find her book still in his hands. Crystal found the van just as the moon was beginning to rise. At this time Bentley began to wake up. "We just arrived." Crystal told him as he slid off her back.
"Were you walking all day?" Bentley asked as he began pulling the debris hiding the van.
Crystal gave a small yawn. "Pretty much."
The two were quite as they cleared off the van. "So…your family and Sly's." Bentley said trying to break the silence.
"Yep."
"What are you planning to do now?" Bentley wondered.
Crystal paused then looked at Bentley. He needed someone now more than ever. "I was planning on getting the Clockwork talons but now I have a change in plans."
"What's that?"
Crystal gave a small smile and determination sparked in her eyes. "I'm gonna help you break your gang out of prison. If you'll accept my help that is."
Who knows when the next chapter will be up with school starting soon.