Owyn Ross: I have to admit, I didn't know that there could be mages in Sly's ancestry in the game's lore. How interesting to know that.
Guest #1: Yes. I can.
Guest #2: Indeed.
Harem Lover 26: Thank you for the praise. And for the idea of what to use for Carmelita.
RonaldM40196867: Let's just say that I was requested to do this. And yes, I can do a sequel to this story.
Finally, Disclaimer: The following is a non-profit fan-based retelling. The Sly Cooper series is created, and owned by Sucker Punch, and Sony Entertainment. Please support the official releases.
*Flashback*
Back in the orphanage, the Cooper gang, and Carmelita was on one of the playgrounds' equipments, as they were sitting on the floor of the equipment. And they were talking with each other throughout their time on the equipment.
"So you're also an adept at technology? As well as a physicist." Carmelita asked.
Bentley nodded with a smile. "Indeed. You can think my mom for letting me disassemble a radio in order to fix it. All I needed was to scan around at the motherboard a couple times to see how it's designed. Then a few capacitors later, it was working again." He spoke with a smile. "And it was a good thing that I was able to fix it, before my mom passed on. She told me that she was proud of me for fixing the radio well. And that was a week before… well, you know." He then said.
That left the gang feeling somber, as well as Carmelita. "Sorry I asked."
"It's okay. There were some friends of mine in the assistants to Mrs. Puffin, that was able to help me move on. Even Mrs. Puffin, for all her jerkish behavior, left me alone to let me mourn her, and was even nice to me throughout." Bentley said. "I know, it's surprising to hear that. But say what you want about her, especially involving those cookies that she took, before we stole them back from her." He said quietly on the last part, just in case the kids nearby would hear them. "But like I said, she's not the worst orphanage owner. Just a bad, nasty one."
That surprised the gang at what Bentley said about her. While Sly was admittedly feeling respect towards her for what she's done for Bentley, and possibly for Murray. Though, that isn't saying much as even though he did feel a little bad for having taken the cookies from her when he did the heist, he had no regrets in doing the heist to begin with.
Especially since if she wasn't so greedy, and stingy with those cookies, and especially if it wasn't those cookies that was given to them during Christmas of all holidays, he wouldn't have gotten the idea to do the heist to begin with. So Sly felt that it was worth the risk, especially if it's to make up for the fading welts on his palms.
Speaking of which… "By the way Sly, how did that heist work?" Carmelita asked.
"Well, it merely consisted of me waiting in a hidden place in the room until it was empty, with only me inside. Then I had to climb to those cookies after pushing the desk, and the lamp into place, then swinging my way to the high place of the bookshelf, before climbing to the top to get those cookies. It had a risk of failing, particularly since Scary John the Janitor was gonna be entering the room to catch me as he cleaned it, but he was distracted, giving me enough time to swipe them. And soon, the cookies were ours after putting them into my hat, and we were soon outside thanks to Murray being the getaway biker. And thanks to the strong twine that Bentley and I used as rope to pull me to safety." Sly said with a smile.
"Wow. Eso es genial. (Wow. That's cool.) I didn't think that you, and Bentley planned that heist out that well." Carmelita said in amazement.
That had Sly grinning at her, showing that he too had a gap in his teeth, due to having his baby tooth getting knocked out during his tussle with a bully that tried to steal his cane, weeks before his heist. (Not that he cared. Since he did feel that he matches Carmelita in that regard.) "Why thank you, Carmelita. It's nice to see your approval."
"De nada. (No problem.)" Carmelita said, smiling at Sly.
Carmelita was aware of the heist even before it happened. She expected it to happen after learning about Sly's line, and descendance. And she wasn't really surprised to learn that it did. Which would be after Sly confirmed it to her after the fact, with her assurance that she won't tell Mrs. Puffin about the heist.
She kept her word. And refused to tell her about it. Even if she felt ashamed that she could be disappointing her ancestors in doing so, as a part of her would've simply reported the impending heist to her, to stop it before it would begin. And she knew that she should resent them for doing the heist too.
And yet, she didn't put it past any of them for pulling the heist, regardless of it being Sly's idea. After all, even she resented what Mrs. Puffin did with the cookies. So, she felt that she totally deserved it, and Carmelita felt that this could be one of the fewest robberies, or heists that she would turn a blind eye to.
She hopes that her ancestors would understand, that sometimes, the greedy people like Mrs. Puffin deserves their justice, even if she was supposed to protect them. Whether it would be from thieves, or from other people who are out for revenge against them. That is, if they won't end up killing them as a result. Aftar all, as Carmelita has learned from this, even some of the important people may not be any better than the common thieves that she'd hunt for in the future.
So, all in all, she didn't care about the heist having been done to Mrs. Puffin. And she was delighted to see it succeed, especially since the gang also gave some of those cookies out to the other orphans who needed them. Which left them grateful towards them for it. Though none of them knew of how they got it, nor did they ask. Which was fortunate, as it'd probably lead to Mrs. Puffin finding out. And even though it would be worth it, Carmelita felt that none of them should be caught by her and be sent to juvie.
After that, they were now talking about other stuff. Like cartoons, or books.
Sly read a few books in his lifetime, other than his Thievius Raccoonus, particularly the novels, or even comics, and he did watch a few cartoons. Murray also read a few books, but he is mainly a comic book boy, as well as a video game person since he happens to have his handheld, and he enjoys cartoons that has slapstick in them. Bentley does fancy a few comics, and he does end up playing a game or two, but he is mainly a novel reader, particularly the educational books too keep his brain sharp. And for Carmelita, she too is a book reader, and she does enjoy some graphic novels like Sly does, especially if they have art in them. As well as the other literature that catches her interest. Like Romance novels.
Considering her Spanish links though, Sly had to ask something. "So Carmelita, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that you are fond of Tele-novellas." Sly said, hearing about them from some assistants who went to Spain, or Latin America.
Carmelita merely shrugged. "Eh. I'm merely indifferent. They aren't bad. But I'm fonder of the other stuff, other than those Tele-novellas." She responded.
"Oh? So you prefer only the regular literature books over the Tele-novella?" Sly asked curiously.
Carmelita nodded. "Particularly if there is Romance in it. I acknowledge that romance can get sappy, particularly if it takes up more of the story than necessary. But it's still my favorite genre to go with, especially if it works well. Like the thief, and the knight from that book we read in the Library."
"Ah. I remember that." Sly said. "I heard that French, along with Spanish, and Italian to a lesser extent, is the language of love. So I don't feel surprised that you're fond of that genre. Not that I'm not fond of it myself, as I do acknowledge that Romance can be done well depending on the story."
"And I'm glad that you think so, Ringtail." Carmelita said with delight.
"No problem." He said. Before he then got startled. Along with Bentley and Murray. "Wait, hold on. Did you call me ringtail?"
Carmelita nodded. "Of course I did. You do have rings on your grey tail, do you not?"
Sly ended up checking out his tail, where sure enough, he ended up realizing that he indeed has rings around his tail. He is a Raccoon after all. Which had him nodding with a shrug.
"So you could be calling him Ringtail as a sort of nickname. Is it supposed to be a friendship nickname? Or an insulting one? Or is it out of romance?" Bentley asked curiously.
Which had Carmelita blushing at that question. "The f-former. I can assure you that we are friends, him and I. So the nickname is not a bad idea for that moment."
That was an interesting answer from the Spaniard Fox, as the group continued their conversation on the playground.
*Present*
"Sorry guys, but this is one mission that you're both going to have to do without me." Bentley said as the thieves were about to exit the van once they knew they were at their destination.
Both Sly and Carmelita were looking at him, amused at his refusal to get out of the van for once, and join them. Even though he has only Murray for company since he too was feeling nervous of getting out of the van and into the jungle of Haiti.
"You don't believe in ghosts, do you?" Sly asked.
Bentley nodded his head, while crossing his arms in a gesture of steadfastness in his refusal to exit the van with them. "Of course I do. My scans are picking up verifiable paranormal activity. But that isn't the main problem. The problem is that this swamp is oozing with disgusting mold, and bacteria among other things."
They had no arguments there, as one look outside told them that they were indeed in a swampy jungle of Haiti, where they expected Mz. Ruby to be. And the more ladylike part of Carmelita felt like agreeing with Bentley on that one, as she hopes that she won't end up making a mess of her clothing, or her hair. As the gang is going to owe her a shower at that rate.
But the rest of her was too determined to back down from this. As was Sly, regardless of how scary the jungle of Haiti could be to even him. So both of them braced themselves.
"Suck it up. We got work to do. You continue doing some recon work for us, while we continue our journey for the pages." Carmelita said.
"Well alright then." Bentley said, refusing to be unhelpful to Sly, and Carmelita, regardless of his nervousness. "Just remember the new move that you got from Muggshot's section of the Thievius Raccoonus."
"Like the Raccoon Rail-walk?" Carmelita asked.
"Indeed. And there are plenty of thick roots and vines in this swamp, that are perfect for that." Bentley then said, looking through the van's telescope that showed their surroundings, and the path that Carmelita, and Sly was going to take. "As you can use them to test out the move. All you gotta do, is-"
"So the same spin as we do with our Ninja Spire Jump." Sly interrupted.
"Especially when you see those other thick vines where the bark has worn away on them. And where they're slick from that icky slime of the swamp, which would be slippery enough to where you'll be sliding like a skater grinding on pipes." Bentley spoke, not minding the interruption.
Sly, and Carmelita were grinning at that as they were getting out of the van. "I'm gonna enjoy that move." Sly said.
"Plus, you can do the same move with Carmelita's grappling hook rope! That should make for a good team maneuver that makes another use for her Grappling hook!" Bentley called, noting the possibilities for Carmelita's grappling hook attachment.
Which had them both grinning at that, as they got into the jungle, before they were beginning their trek through it.
They jumped on the sections of land that was surrounded by swampy water of the jungle, where once they got to the third section, they were quickly set upon by a large purple mosquito with a bent proboscis, likely having used it plenty of times before. And it was willing to use it again on the thieves once it saw them.
They were able to take it down first though, before they were able to use the Rail Walk skill on the thick root that was nearby, which led to another section of the land, which had a bouncy drum that they could use as a trampoline.
Which they proceeded to use as such, as they bounced onto the vine. Which was indeed quite slippery according to Bentley, so they both were able to slide down the vine to another section of the swamp of Haiti without trouble.
Carmelita felt that they both were like this jungle Raccoon from the movie they saw back in Utah, after Muggshot's defeat. Prior to going back to Paris. She admits that she was loves that movie, particularly since there was romance in it between the Raccoon, and the albino fox from Britain.
Speaking of Britain, she thought about her ancestor that was in Britain, Victorian Britain to be precise. Which she remembered reading a enough of, from her journal to learn her skill. Which was the enhanced vision that she was using. That way, she could see well in the dark. And so that she can see, and track the law breakers. Like Mz. Ruby for example.
Even though it also has its other benefits, like being a sort of night vision that could help her, and Sly through the darker parts of the jungle of Haiti.
Like at the end section of the vines, which they were now at, after some jumping to do after getting to the branches that was covered in vines and moss, causing them to create platforms for them to cross, and after taking down a large blue spider that hung by its butt in its attempt to bite them. Now they were on the few parts of land where they ended up seeing some giant purple mosquitos that flew along while minding their business when they saw them. And with her enhanced vision, she saw that they were dangerous since they had the capability to suck their blood out.
And they weren't friendly insects either. As they did try to indeed stab them with their proboscis to suck their blood out. But Carmelita quickly shot them down with her pistol, while Sly took them down with his cane when they get close.
Once the mosquitoes were dealt with, they were now using another vine to continue their progress through the swamp.
Where once they got past another set of roots, they were on another section of land in the swamp, which led to a cave inside. Which gave Carmelita a chance to put her enhanced vision to use again as she and Sly walked into the cave. Which was only slightly illuminated by torches that lit the way for them to go through the cave.
Which was only a short walk through it. But there was some sort of creature that was ahead of them, waiting to ambush them as it was in the dark, feeling that it has an advantage due to the darkness it was hidden in. Which was fortunate for the thieves, as Carmelita detected the beast in the dark before it could spring its ambush.
"Sly! Look out!" She said, pointing ahead of them at the creature. That could be described as a lithe, yet huge creature that towered over them. And was quadrupedal.
It tried to take them out, but Carmelita was able to shoot it before it could harm them after retreating away from it a bit. Much to her relief, since she saved both herself, and Sly.
Now it was blasted into pieces due to the power of her shock pistol. Taking it out of action before it could harm them. Much to her relief as she hugged him.
"Thanks for the heads up. Although I saw him too." Sly said, showing that he too has the enhanced senses, that he was taught to have, by Carmelita and her book.
"But he could've ambushed us. And that monster seemed like bad news." She spoke to him.
"Carmelita's right. That swamp monster is a dangerous guard for Mz. Ruby." Bentley said on the Bino-cu-coms. "It has been brought to life out of wood by her, and I learned that a hit from your cane would cause it to split in two. One being the head, and the other being its torso. And trust me, both halves can still harm you both. Fortunately, Carmelita's shots from her shock pistol is devastating enough that none of them can stand a chance. So try not to separate too far from each other if you'll encounter a group of them in the swamp."
"Roger that." Sly said, before they continued onwards. With Sly and Carmelita going on more of the roots that lead upwards to the chopped down tree stump that was above the cave they were in.
Which was where they saw a trio of those swamp monsters that was waiting to ambush them. But due to the moonlight, the thieves already saw them. And were prepared for battle as Carmelita started the fight by shooting one of them down, while Sly took on the third one as the second one tried to get to Carmelita.
Sly whacked the third one, where sure enough, its head split off from the torso, making him fight two halves of the monster that continually tried to harm them both. Thankfully, he had room to maneuver around the creature's head, and it was mainly focused on him instead of going after Carmelita too, before whacking it, leaving only the torso for him to deal with. Which wasn't hard since the torso couldn't see him for obvious reasons.
As for the second creature, Carmelita destroyed that thing with another shot from her shock pistol. While Sly took out the torso of the other creature. Now they were free to continue onwards as they jumped off of the leaf branch and onto the land in front of the tree that they were on.
Which was connected to a fortress wall of stakes, with a gap in the middle of it. Which had another guard in between it. That guard was a rat, with a lantern on his stick that illuminated the ground, then the sky to look out for any sky assaults on Mz. Ruby's base. While he also had a floating glowing green sphere on his other hand, which looked like Mojo magic.
And they guessed that he was going to throw it like some baseball at them, if they get caught. Thankfully, they saw that he was alternating between shining his lantern on the ground and at the sky. Which gave them a pattern to exploit as they were now at the shimmy section of the wall. Where they both were flexibly shimmying under the rat guard.
At least, that was initially the plan, but Carmelita had an idea for a shortcut for Sly, as she ended up using her grapple gun to make a rope for Sly to rail walk on to the stone idol that led to the only opening into the wall where they could continue onwards. Soon, Sly made his way onto the wall, with Carmelita close behind him as they were continuing onwards.
But not before clobbering the rat guard on the wall, so that he won't blow the whistle and attack them.
Now they were on the ramp that led into a sort of area where there was a bunch of bone tipis that loitered the area. Along with the other rat guards that was patrolling the area. And of course at the other side, was a gate with a lock on it, that they guessed, led to the lair of Mz. Ruby's.
That was when they got another call from Bentley. "That's Mz. Ruby's lair. To get in, you'll need that key on the Tiki Pedestol in that compound. However, there's a bad mojo barrier that is protecting it. So you'll both need to take down all five of those purple candles that surrounds it." He then said, pointing them towards one of them.
"No problem." Sly said with a smile.
"How interesting." Carmelita said. Having not had this kind of objective before.
"Don't get too cocky guys, if neither of you want to have your heads shrunk down to the size of a pea. Both of you will need to get past those voodoo guards. And I'm warning you, they're quite mean, and they work like a team." Bentley then said, pointing their Bino-cu-coms at the guards in the vision of the Bino-cu-com.
"So do we, buddy." Sly said, referring to himself, Carmelita, and Bentley. As well as Murray. Whom could've followed them here, if the swamp didn't spook him as well. Despite his bravery in fighting some of the dog guards back in Mesa. But they were a different story.
Nevertheless, he and Carmelita jogged into the compound, where they were carefully taking out the candles one at a time, while avoiding the rat guards that patrolled the perimeter, trying to find them.
Sly even knew of what he could do to lower the odds of them getting caught, as he dropped a duplicate hat down behind him as he jogged, knowing that a guard was behind him as he was going around the Tipi to shine his flashlight on where sly was hiding, only to find a blue hat on the ground, much to his confusion.
"What is this? Did one of us lose this hat?" He asked himself, picking the hat up. "If that is the case, which one of us has a blue hat?" He then said, knowing that none of them wore a blue hat to the job.
Not knowing that he was about to fall for Sly's trap. As he was now tapping the foot of his cane on the dirt. Setting off the trap, and knocking out the guard.
While with Carmelita, she too had her own trap for the rats, as she too destroyed the candles with her cane. While avoiding the rats, before she left something behind. Leading to another guard to come around another Tipi to find something that was dropped on the ground.
Which was a glove.
"That's odd. I don't remember one of us wearing a glove to this job." The guard said, picking it up, not knowing that Carmelita was nearby as a few more guards came to him.
"What's that? A glove?" The second guard asked.
"Yes. Which one of us wore this before changing into these uniforms?" He asked, only getting a couple of shrugs in return. Not knowing that Carmelita was now tapping her own cane on the ground.
"What was- *Pomf*" He tried to say, only for the glove to explode like Sly's hat did to the other guard.
Now they were putting the hat and glove mine skills to use against the guards as they blew them up while they kept on destroying the Mojo candles around the key's podium, until they got the objective done.
And soon, Sly got the key in his pockets, before he and Carmelita continued to the door that was on the other side of the compound, which had a lock on it that they immediately unlocked.
And soon, they were now past the door, and now on their way to Mz. Ruby's hideout.
After some more traversing, the thieves were now on the walkway, where they were now at the vine that led directly to the stomping grounds, where they would try to find their way deeper into the lair of Mz. Ruby's. Which was when they got a call from Bentley.
"My Paranormal Scanner is maxing out on that structure." Bentley said, having their Bino-cu-coms pointed at the temple in the distance, which looked like a massive skull of an alligator that was held up by a bunch of twisting roots that held the skull up.
"That reading must mean that it's coming from Mz. Ruby herself." Carmelita said, feeling that there could be no other source of power that is that big.
"I believe that you're right, Carmelita." Bentley said, with Sly in agreement.
"Then that must mean that she's in that skull temple. It's kind of creepy. But kinda cool too." Sly said. "That narrows our search for her down."
"Indeed it does, Sly. Now if you want a crack at her, you're both going to have to find a way into that massive skull temple." Bentley then said to them.
"Oh don't worry, we'll find a way into there. Just you wait." Carmelita said confidently, and determined.
As was Sly, as they both slid their way down the vine and down to the lower section of the land in the swamp.
They were now prepared to bring their fight to Mz. Ruby, and take their pages back from her.
And done.
Here's another chapter of this story. I hope that you guys enjoyed it, regardless of it being pretty short as well.
Now Sly and Carmelita is now beginning their journey through Haiti's jungle to fight Mz. Ruby. Could they beat her after going through their trials? Maybe.
Finally one more thing.
I hope that you enjoyed the chapter,
please give constructive criticism,
do not forget to read and review,
and once again, I do not own the Sly Cooper series. It is owned by Sucker Punch, and Sony Entertainment. Please Support the Official releases.
Theodore the poet signing off.
