Chapter 2: Return of a nemesis

Unknown location - A few years ago:

"Neyla, you're awake." The wolf said calmly. "Good. I've been waiting for the past few days for this to happen." Neyla's vision was blurred. She tried to make out the vague shaped that lay before her, but no matter how much she tried, it was impossible to focus her vision.

"Wha… who's there?" She asked threateningly. A blurry figure to her right moved.

"You took quite the beating back there, didn't you?" This figure was the wolf that she had seen before, briefly. Neyla looked around a while before noticing something odd. She felt smaller somehow.

"My body! What did you do to it?!" She asked in a demanding, yet almost choked voice. The wolf lifted his head up. His back was turned to her and he was sitting pretty far from her position, but he could tell what her exact expression was.

"Your body!?" The wolf exclaimed, surprised by this claim. "I didn't think that you were born a robotic owl. Buuut, if you say so…" The wolf taunted her sarcastically.

"Just tell me where clockwerks body is!" Neyla demanded.

"Gone." The wolf said quickly.

"Gone?! What do you mean gone?!"

"I mean gone as in no more. It no longer exists. It deteriorated after Sly destroyed the hate chip.

"Sly!" Neyla shouted in an agitated voice. "When I get my hands on him…" She paused after a sudden realization. "But wait! If the chip was destroyed, then how am I still alive?!" She looked directly at the wolf. Although her vision was blurred, she still recognised him as the man who she saw before she last went unconscious.

"No, I tell a lie. It was Carmelita Fox who destroyed the hate chip." The wolf raised a hand in the air, ignoring Neyla's last question. The tiger frowned. This guy seemed as dense as the earth's core. She just wasn't getting through to him.

"Did you save me?"

"Yep."

"Why?"

"Because I felt like it." The wolf replied. He then stood up and made his way over to Neyla. She tried to get up herself, but her body was too weak to move very much. All she could do was turn her head and talk. Neyla made out the general area around her. The two of them were definitely on some sort of giant ledge. It was most likely on some desolate mountain. She would have preferred to be in a warm cosy bed rather than the makeshift one on the edge of a precarious ledge, but she was in no place to argue, considering her position.

"You felt like saving me? That's not much of a reason."

"Well… I guess it's a bit more complicated than that." The wolf admitted. "You see…"

"Nooo!" Neyla cried out in horror." The wolf raised an eyebrow and sighed.

"What is it?"

"If the Clockwerk parts have been destroyed, how am I going to become immortal?"

"Immortality, huh? You don't want to be getting into that business, trust me. It's more work than it's worth." The wolf sat down beside Neyla's makeshift bed. "Besides, there is no such thing as true immortality." He explained. "We live, we die. End of story. I'm afraid that living forever just isn't an option." He crossed his legs and stared at Neyla. "I don't see the appeal in it anyway. Sure, living a long while is fun, but if I had to live forever then I'd probably go crazy." Neyla turned her head away from him. Her neck caused her severe pain as she did so, but she didn't let that bother her.

"But even if I didn't live forever… I would have had so much power!" She clenched her fists. The wolf saw this and huffed.

"Your devotion to becoming immortal or powerful is almost laughable." He remarked.

"Oh yeah!?" Neyla snapped her had back around, prompting more pain to shoot throughout her body. "Why is that?!" Neyla asked, clearly annoyed with the wolf's comment.

"Because Clockwerk was so weak." The wolf replied. Neyla's expression changed. She was confused, yet remained silent. "You should have known that from the fact that it only took Sly and Carmelita to rip him to shreds. Sure he didn't die, but he got the crap beaten out of him by a thief and an inspector." The wolf looked directly into her eyes, his face showing an extremely serious expression. This unnerved Neyla, and especially so when…

"Aaaaaaaah!" She cried out in pain. The wolf pressed his hand harder on her gut and blood began to show through the bandages.

"I really hope that you've learnt your lesson." He took his hand off and wiped the blood from it. Neyla lay on the ground, breathing heavily and irregularly. "Your wounds were severe. If I hadn't pulled you out and performed surgery on you…" He crossed his arms. "Well, you'd be dead."

"Just… *pant* Just who are you… *pant* anyway?!" Neyla struggled to speak through the pain. The wolf smiled.

"You can call me Julian." The wolf answered. "I work for…"

"So why did you save me, Julian?!" Neyla asked.

'For the love of god; does this woman ever shut up?' "As I was saying, I work for…"

"And don't think you can get away with seeing me naked!"

"First off, I had no choice but to initially undress you! I had to perform a delicate procedure which can't be done if you're fully clothed!" Julian explained. "Second of all, let me finish what I'm saying and everything will be explained!" Neyla did not reply. After Julian calmed down he breathed out and began his explanation. "I work for an organization known as Black Cat. It is my duty as one of the lieutenants to make sure everything runs smoothly. You see, we all share a common goal. Although I doubt that you would have any interest in that. My point is that I see potential in you, even if you are a conniving, manipulative psychopath. We… I could use your skills."

"So you saved me because you want me to be your protégé?"

"I guess you could put it like that."

"It's a nice offer, but it doesn't really interest me. What if I say no?" Neyla asked. Julian replied by placing a hand over her wound.

"Right, why would I expect any less from people like you."

"People like me? That's a very black and white way of looking at things. I don't like that. Perhaps you're not as useful as I thought you'd be…"

"Wait. I didn't say that I wouldn't help you! What's in it for me?" Neyla questioned. She just managed to sit up straight and adjusted her bandages as she did so. Looking over herself, it was easy to tell that bandages were all she had on. They did cover her body to satisfactory standards though.

"Power. What you want most." Julian smiled. Trust me; I know how to get power. Power far beyond even the comprehension of Clockwerk." He stood up and walked to the edge of the ledge. Julian raised his arms in the air and looked down at the thin walkway far away. Convoys of materials and goods were being shipped across it. Shipped towards the large base buried in the far mountain to Julian's left. "If you want something, anything save immortality…" He turned to face Neyla. "I can get it for you. Neyla scratched her chin. Something seemed odd about this, but everything had changed so quickly, it left her with little choice.

'I could use this guy. He knows my ways but it shouldn't be too hard to control him. After all, he is pretty open.' "That's a very nice offer. I like those terms very much."

"I change my mind. You're not joining." Julian turned back around and enjoyed the view.

"What!? Why not?!"

"I can tell when someone is putting on an act. You didn't think that it'd be easy manipulating a genius, did you?" Julian complimented himself. Neyla sighed.

'Unbelievable. This guy could tell what I was planning straight away.' "Fine, Genius. You've got yourself a protégé, but only because of your terms and nothing else. Fail to meet my standards and the deal's off."

"That's more like it!" Julian turned around, beaming a smile at her. "Welcome to the team." Neyla looked away from him. "Yeah, whatever. Just tell me where my clothes are and we'll be off?"

"They're in there." Julian pointed at a small tent. "I cleaned them for you, so there shouldn't be any blood stains." Neyla mumbled and began to attempt standing up. Her legs were wobbly and the pain in her body cut deep. Stumbling towards the tent, she fell to the ground again, only to be picked up by Julian.

"You know, if you need help, you just have to ask." He smiled at her. Julian slung her arm around his neck and helped her into the tent. Just as he said, her clothes were waiting there in a neat, clean pile. "I'll wait for you outside." Julian sat down outside the tent door and crossed his arms. 'What a strange girl.' He thought to himself. 'She'd be my type if she wasn't so damn evil.' He sighed.

"Stupid clothes!" Neyla exclaimed. She struggled to put anything on as her limbs shook. Every task seemed a hundred times harder than normal. Everything was so fiddly. "Damn trousers." Neyla frowned.

"Need help?" Julian called from outside the tent.

"No!" Neyla shouted. She then realized something. 'Wait just a second Neyla. If you let this guy help you out, he'll be way more affectionate towards you. After all, giving gifts and doing favours for people actually makes you like them more. I could use this to my advantage.' "Actually… yes." Neyla admitted sorrowfully. "I can't seem to get dressed." Julian stood up and entered.

"Not surprising. Your body has suffered a lot of trauma, so I can imagine how hard it is to do things. I assume that it's especially frustrating when normal tasks become a challenge."

"Yeah, yeah. Are you going to help me?" 'He knows that if I act all nice and friendly it's an act. Just act normal and he won't suspect a thing.' Julian took her shorts and pulled them over her feet. Neyla moved her body accordingly.

"So how did you get into the criminal business?" Julian proceeded to put the shorts in their rightful place and threaded the belt around it.

"It's a long story. I'd rather not talk about it." Neyla grimaced as the belt tightened and caused her pain. The wound in her waist seemed the worse, especially since Julian re-opened it with his hand.

"I hope that it didn't stem from your wish to become immortal." Julian stated. Neyla turned her back to him and rested on his knees. The wolf then picked up her torso wear and began to place it on her. "That would be disappointing." When Julian finished dressing her, he handed Neyla her hood. "Rest up for a while. We're in no rush to go anywhere." With that, Julian left the tent and made his way back over to the ledge. Neyla was left with her own thoughts.

'Clockwerk is destroyed. Clock-la is no more. Everything that I've worked towards. It's all for nothing. I haven't got anything left in this world. I'll just have to cling on to Julian and hope he takes me in the right direction.' She looked at the makeshift bed that Julian had been using. 'Funny how he got to sleep in the tent. But I guess it's my bed now.' Neyla dropped her hood onto her boots and crawled under the duvet. "Power. He promised power." She smiled. "I'll take what I can get, and I'll use it to crush the Cooper gang and that damn Carmelita Fox!"

Paris – Present day:

"So this is what you've been waiting for, huh?" Julian stood on a rooftop and looked out across the urban area of Paris. "Good thing that the boss now has an interest in the Cooper gang. What an odd bunch of guys." His voice was calm and serene. "Why such a long wait?" He asked.

"I want to make sure that Sly doesn't beat me this time." Neyla admitted. "With all of the training that we've done, there is no way I can lose now!" She jumped across the rooftops in search of her target. "I'm coming for you Cooper!"

I'm still trying to think of another baddie. A female one. I'll ponder over it whilst you Rate and Review this story. Hey you know what's weird? I've never even played a Sly game :P I've seen playthroughs though.