Chapter 19 - "Tailor-Made Terror" - Reservations and Revelations

"There... This is not..." Bentley hunched closer to his computer monitor, his eyes darting across every detail of the picture that now flickered across the screen. To those less well-versed in the varying theories and arguably pseudo-scientific studies of universal alteration, it would have been just a metal archway covered in lights. But to him...

He reached up and hastily readjusted his glasses, hoping that the less-than-desirable lighting conditions of the back room that he had set up shop in were playing some cruel trick on him. There was just no way that someone else had access to this level of technology, then again, none of this damn Numbers mess had played by any of the 'rules' that he had grown accustomed to. He leaned back with a huff, agitating the dust that had landed on the back of his chair in the process and sending himself into a brief fit of sneezing. Blinking away the irritation, he flipped open a small PDA next to his laptop and began to enter a few strings of seemingly random numbers in the hopes of making sense of what he was looking at. Scrunching his face, obviously unhappy with the resulting outcome, he flicked the device away and leaned back in towards his computer, opening the communication tab in the same movement.

The screen glowed dimly for a few moments before the shadowy outline of Sly appeared.

"What's up Bentley?

Bentley began to idly bring his PDA back closer to him, eyeing the numbers that still glowed defiantly in the corner. "Are you almost finished with reconnaissance?"

The turtles uncharacteristically blunt question came off as more of a statement, and caught Sly momentarily off guard. Blinking twice, Sly shook his head and leaned in closer. "Yeah, I am. Is something wrong?"

Bentley dragged both hands slowly downwards across his face, sighing. "There may have to be a slight expedition of the schedule at hand."

Sly raised an eyebrow, unblinking.

Bentley sighed again. "We need to hurry up with everything we need to get done. I've been looking over the photos you've sent in and, if they're of what I think they are, we don't have much time. I need you to finish up and get back to the safe-house as soon as possible so we can get a plan going."

"Roger that. I've got a few things I'd like to bring up as well."

"Oh?"

Sly seemed to shy away momentarily, unsure of what to say next. This did not pass unnoticed by the turtle. "...Yeah, but let's save it for when we're all together. Sitting Duck out."

Bentley grinned hearing his friend use the field name he was given years ago as the connection fizzled out. Closing his laptop, deciding that he had learned everything from the pictures that he could, he began to wheel himself out of the store-room. Seeing as there was nothing left to do until Sly could verify what he had seen, he decided to try out a hunch of his to see if he could try and figure out what was bothering his raccoon friend. Passing by Murray, who was contenting himself with a bag of chips and a long outdated magazine that he had found stashed away in a cabinet, he wheeled himself into what had been designated as the 'main-room' to find Carmelita, Claire, and Penelope talking animatedly at the table. Clearing his throat as he approached, he drew the attention of the group and looked at them in sequence. His movements slowed as he suddenly became aware of what exactly he was doing, as well as the sets of eyes that were now directed unblinkingly at him. He almost excused himself back to his 'office' to let his adrenaline levels return to normal levels, as approaching others with anything less than a well-rehearsed plan was most certainly out of character for the introverted turtle. He cleared his throat once again and tugged at the collar of his shell, suddenly finding himself much warmer than he had been seconds before as his confidence in approaching the trio quickly fell away. "Uhh..."

The three at the table briefly looked towards each other before turning their attention back to the turtle.

Clearing his throat for a third time, he finally mustered the strength to speak up. "Carmelita, could I maybe... talk to you alone for a few minutes?"

The fox shifted in her seat, crossing her legs as she nodded to the raccoon and mouse across from her. Claire stood and excused herself, quickly followed by Penelope in order to leave the two alone.

Carmelita began to drum her fingers impatiently as the seconds of silence ticked by.

"Sorry," Bentley began, shifting uncomfortably in his chair. "Still not used to this. What with the, you know, 'used-to-be-mortal-enemies' and all..."

Carmelita gave him a crooked look. "I thought we were past this, Bentley. I'm not here to do anything underhanded. It's not like I like being dragged along with you all, but holding grudges wouldn't help me feel any better about it." She began to fidget idly with the ring on her left hand, cocking her head in the other direction.

The turtle seemed to perk up slightly hearing this, Carmelita noting to herself that he was starting to slowly 'come out of his shell' in regards to the newest members of the gang. "Right... sorry. I guess I should just cut right to it then..." There was a beat of silence. "What's going on between you and Sly?"

It was only through sheer force of will that Carmelita managed to stay upright in her chair, the shock of the question knocking her sense of balance completely askew. The turtle rolled forwards to help, but she held an arm out to stop him, letting him know that it wouldn't be necessary. "Sorry, it's just..." She sighed and leaned back in her chair, again toying with her ring in an effort to reset her mind.

Bentley looked down to see what she was fussing with, and then froze. "...He didn't."

Carmelita traced the path of his eyes, suddenly becoming very self-conscious of the gleaming band occupying a spot on her left hand.

The turtle's expression went completely blank. "You've been back together a week, and he asked you to marry him."

Carmelita laughed uncomfortably. "You know how Sly is, right?"

"And it's cutting years off of my life." He began to massage his temples. That friend of his... "Look, I don't care what you two decide to do, that's none of my business and I want nothing to do with it," his expression steeled as he met the eyes of the fox across from him. Any trace of the trepidation and uncertainty that was present earlier had been completely flushed away. "But do not hurt him again."

"Bentley," she began, only to be cut off with the brisk wave of a green hand

"Don't 'Bentley' me, Inspector. Do you know what it was like when Sly first came back? We were all so excited to see the guy that it took us a while to see just how broken he was."

Carmelita twitched at the word 'broken', the grating way that the turtle said it left an unpleasant feeling in the air between them.

"He tried to hide it. Y'know, act all 'excited to be back' while making jokes about how you kicked him out for being too much of a nuisance or something ridiculous like that. I didn't sleep for a solid week for hearing him sobbing in the room next to mine. Any time I tried to bring it up, he brushed it off and went outside to sit on the roof. Sometimes for hours at a time. Damn near got himself killed when the colder months rolled around."

"And you think I had it much better off, right?" Her voice bristled, but any attempt at anger was fully lost as she saw her own experience reflected in the glasses of the one across from her. "My parents were so happy to know that I had finally found someone, maybe even more excited than I was about it all." She closed her eyes, taking off her ring and twisting it between her fingers. "I guess I just couldn't get over who I knew he really was... I wanted to give him everything, but I was always worried. This little Spanish girl was so happy to have her happy ending, though, that I guess I just bottled everything up. When he finally told me," she paused, slipping the ring back over her finger and clenching her hand into a fist. "When he finally told me the truth about his memories, I didn't know how to respond.

"I wanted to fall for the real Sly, and when he told me the truth, he might as well have just said he had been lying about the entire relationship as far as I cared. He had been hiding himself from me, right under my nose. With this, though..." she unclenched her hand and held it up to him, her voice strengthening with every word, "He asked me to marry him as the real Sly; not some amnesiac imposter. That's all I ever wanted from the start, I just didn't know how I could make it happen without some sort of miracle."

"A 'miracle' sure is a funny way of looking at this whole mess."

The fox huffed in agreement, and then reached up to wipe a bead of sweat that had been bothering her. "Is it getting hotter in here, to you?"

The turtle stilled himself, as if focusing for a moment, and then nodded his agreement. "That's odd. It's..." He stopped and yawned, "Way too cold outside for this."

Carmelita stood up, yawing herself before turning to the turtle. "I'm going to call it a night. If Sly comes back tonight, tell him which room I'm in."

Bentley closed his eyes and nodded, placing his head between his hands as another massive yawn washed over him. Counting back in his mind, he had slept maybe twice since Sly had brought an unconscious Carmelita to their safe-house. As much as he hated to admit it, he wouldn't be able to get a good enough plan of attack together at this level of exhaustion. Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Carmelita had left, he leaned forwards and rested his head on the table, falling fast asleep only a few moments later.

…

Sly gently closed the window behind him as he made his entry back into the safe-house. As silently as always, he padded down the dim hallways of the old tea shop while trying to keep the incessant thoughts of what they were up against later on from overtaking his mind. Planning to take the room he had found the safe in earlier to himself, he reached down to unlatch the door when he heard mumbling coming from somewhere off to his left. Ears perked, he turned and gently pushed the door next to him open a few inches, peering inside.

Sly could just barely make out what looked like an air mattress in the corner of the room, and another string of mumbles confirmed to him that it was occupied by Carmelita. Letting himself in, he carefully pulled the door to behind him and took a quick look around, having not been in this room before. Finding a suitable ledge, he placed his cane and cap on top of it and began to undress, as the heat of the room had done its job warding off the cold of the night he had left behind.

Rolling his shoulders, now satisfactorily disrobed, he pulled back just enough of the thin sheet covering the fox in front of him to lower himself into bed alongside her.

"You're not as quiet as you think you are," she mumbled sleepily, stretching her arms out above her head, eyes still closed.

Sly froze, and then let out a long sigh as he finished crawling underneath the sheet next to her. "Chalk it up to old age." He wiggled himself lower down beneath the covering, being sure to leave ample space between himself and Carmelita.

She lowered her arms from her stretch and placed them across her chest, atop the blanket. Turning her head towards him, her right ear pinned between her head and the pillow in adorable fashion, she cracked open her eyes. "No forced contact? Who are you and what have you done with my fiancée," she deadpanned.

Sly allowed a quiet, hollow laugh. Unable, or perhaps unwilling to find a retort, he turned on to his side facing away from her and closed his eyes.

Narrowing her eyes in the darkness, Carmelita propped herself up on an elbow, holding the blanket to her chest with her free arm. "Is everything ok, Sly?" She prodded quietly, her voice tinged with genuine concern at the raccoon's uncharacteristically icy demeanor.

"Just... tired."

"I don't believe you." She inched herself towards him, draping an arm across him and pulling herself close. She nuzzled into his shoulder, holding on to him tightly. Feeling Sly release much of the tension in his shoulders at her action, she relaxed as well, allowing her head to drop back to the pillow.

Feeling her fur against his, Sly scooted closer. "Are you not wearing any-"

"Say anything about it, and I'll hurt you." She huffed. "It was hot."

"Suits me." Sly spun around slowly to his other side, taking care to not draw the blanket off of her. Bringing her into an embrace, he buried his head into her hair much like she had done to him. His voice, soft and muffled, tickled at her ears as he spoke. "Why don't you believe me?"

Carmelita brought her other arm around him, not shying away from the contact. "Because you're getting defensive."

"Defensive?"

"Mmhmm," she replied with a yawn, making herself comfortable against him despite the heat. "And I'm too sleepy to argue with you, so spit it out." She felt Sly tense himself slightly beneath her touch again.

"Not even a little argument?"

She responded by nipping him gently on the shoulder, causing Sly to relax once more. "Keep doing that," he continued, "and I'll find a reason to argue."

She drew her head back and away from him, looking into his eyes through the darkness. Gone was the usual fire and determination from his gaze, instead replaced by uncertainty and hesitation. It was a look she had seen him display only a handful of times, and it never lead to anything good. "Sly..." she prodded, his eyes looking momentarily away.

"I'm just... tired," he closed his eyes. "Of everything."

Carmelita bit gently on the tip of his nose, not contented with his answer.

Sly nuzzled his head back down, hiding his face. "I just keep thinking about what we're all going to do once this is over. I don't know if I want to keep the gang together."

Carmelita's expression shifted, not expecting this from him. "They're your friends, Sly. You can't just kick them all out."

He shifted uncomfortably, the fabric of the sheet against him now feeling far too restrictive as he tried to focus on anything but the conversation at hand. "Then what do I do? If we stay together, sooner or later someone is going to get hurt."

"Like Bentley?"

Sly went silent, lying motionless next to her.

Oh dammit that was not the right thing to say. She kept silent, letting the seconds tick painfully by as she racked her mind for something to say.

"Yeah, like Bentley. Clockwerk was one of my demons, and he hurt one of my only friends. I don't want that to happen again, but I know trouble is just going to keep following me. I could just leave, let them move on..."

"Did they move on when you 'lost your memory'?" The tone of her voice had shifted considerably, her usual fire and aggression working its way back in. "They're your FRIENDS, Sly."

"And that's what has me worried..." His voice didn't rise to meet hers. "I don't want anything bad to happen. I know we all belong out here, in the thick of it, but I just know something is going to happen. Something bad is going to happen and they're still going to stick with me through it. They'll stick with me until the next bad thing happens, and then the next, and then the next..." He was doing everything he could to hold back tears, failing miserably at it. "And then the next, and then the next... They'll stick with me through all of it. Until one of them goes and gets themselves killed.

And then, if anyone is left, they'll stick with me after that. None of us deserve that."

Carmelita began to stroke up and down his arm in a bid to comfort him, shushing quietly intermittently. "They are your friends, Sly. That's what they do. I know very well that you would never let anything happen to them, though."

"But what if I do?"

"Hush. Remember when the Contessa had me brainwashed? I was fighting against you, and you still went out of your way to get me out of there unharmed." She gripped loosely on his shoulder, pulling him closer. "You and I both know that you would never let anything happen to your friends, no matter what."

"But-"

"I can do this all night, Ringtail. None of you deserve anything, unless you count the little voice in the back of my head that still says you need to be behind bars."

Sly let out a humorless chuckle.

"You all are closer friends than anything I've ever seen, and being there for each other, no matter what, comes along with that. You dragged me back to your hideout, and the first thing your friends do is help me. No questions. If anything, I don't deserve how I've been treated after everything I've done." She sighed deeply, fidgeting with her ring that she had kept on. "But here I am, engaged to your culo loco. Bentley knows, by the way."

Sly lifted his head out of its tear-stained burrow, looking at her incredulously. "He what?" He dug his arm out of the blanket and wiped it across his face, refocusing his vision. "He... what? How did he," he took a moment to sniff back a few more tears, his face slowly regaining its composure. "How did he find out?"

Carmelita prodded him in the side with her ring. "Those giant glasses he wears aren't just for show."

Sly laughed again, a bit of the warmth returning to his voice. He propped himself up on and elbow, looking down at her. "What did he say?"

"He said you were dumb," a laugh, "and then... he made me promise not to hurt you. He might have told me about how you were after last time..."

"I'm surprised he hasn't planted a bomb in your bed yet."

It was Carmelita's turn to laugh. "With how he looked at me, I was scared he was going to." She propped herself up and planted a quick kiss on Sly's muzzle, which was reciprocated warmly. "He doesn't have anything to worry about, though." Another kiss, this time lingering. "You're mine, and I'm never letting you go. I've waited this long, so you're stuck with me. If something happens, I'll be there for you." Another kiss. "And the next thing after that, I'll be there for you." Another kiss. "And the next thing after that..." She drew herself closer, assaulting him with a barrage of gentle kisses before snuggling up contentedly.

"And the next thing after that?"

She responded by mumbling sleepily, yawning deeply and placing a hand over his mouth. Sly, resting his head backwards and wrapping his arms gently around the now dozing fox, yawned cavernously around her hand, which she withdrew close to herself.

He tried to recess once more back into his thoughts, but the allure of sleep and the soft coat of his love next to him did wonders to draw him into unconsciousness. Closing his eyes for the last time that night, he thought maybe, just maybe, everything would be ok.

AN: I'm not dead, and neither is this story. For all five of you still following this thing, Surely there are better things you could be doing with your time instead of following this dumb thing. I'm still going to finish it, so don't worry about that, but God only knows how chapter updates are going to come along. I know I say it every time, but they should actually really ACTUALLY REALLY be short times between updates this time around. Thank you all again for reading this. It's been almost FOUR YEARS since I started this thing, and I've grown quite attached to this thing over time. Expect more.

-Jacob