Sorry for the slight delay on this one. It took a bit more work than usual.

Chapter 5: Rematch

I can't do it.

Le Paradox threw down the Egyptian mallet and screamed in frustration. It was no good. He had worked for hours into the night and all he had to show for it was an abomination of machinery, crudely constructed through hammering components into place and cutting off bits that got in the way. He had indeed managed to use his chisel as a screwdriver to get a few bolts in place, but the rest of the design clearly announced to the world that he had no idea what he was doing. The temporal sprocket was wedged upside-down and the pieces of the gravity encabulator stuck out at odd angles, all sitting underneath a medium-sized clock face that was cracked down the middle. This thing would never get him home.

He pushed the thing out of his sight and hung his head in misery. So that was it then. He couldn't fix the time machine, and no one else from this era would be able to do it either. So what now? He couldn't just stay in ancient Egypt forever.

Could he?

The skunk stared down at the bed as he thought it over. What did he really have to go back to anyway? His royal status was gone, his assets were frozen, and there was surely a warrant for his arrest by now. He didn't really have anything to lose anymore. Not like Cooper did.

Le Paradox's head finally rose again, but now his face bore an evil smirk.

Sly groaned as he tossed and turned on top of his bed again. He couldn't sleep that night. How could he, knowing that his only hope of getting to see his friends again was Cyrille Le Paradox. That kind of "hope" was enough to drive anyone mad.

In this case, it was very fortunate that he happened to be awake. Otherwise, he might have missed the light thud from outside his window. Groaning again, he drowsily made his way over to the window and peeked outside. "Unnh...now what-HEY!"

All tiredness left him instantly at the sight of Le Paradox taking off across the street, brown sack in his paws. There was no mistaking his intentions this time. "Why, that miserable...!" Sly snatched up his cane and wasted no time in leaping out of the window in pursuit.

With the skunk weighed down by the sack, Sly quickly caught up to him. "Seriously?! You couldn't even wait another night?!" He swung his cane, but missed as Le Paradox jumped onto a tapestry and then onto a rooftop. Sly did the same, only to immediately get nailed in the face with the sack he was after, dazing him for a second.

"Expect the unexpected, Cooper!" Sly came to his senses and saw Le Paradox smirking at him from across the roof. Sly held his cane out in front of him in a clear sign of challenge, and was surprised when Le Paradox did the same with his rapier. He looked down and sure enough, the rapier that usually hung at his side was gone, Le Paradox having swiped it during moment of dizziness. "Don't look so smug, Le Paradox. I beat you once and I'll do it again."

"That is where you are wrong, Cooper. I'm on to your tricks this time." He dropped the brown sack onto the roof and Sly noticed that it didn't produce quite as much sound as before, probably because less pieces were inside of it.

"I see you've already made some progress on the time machine," he said bitterly. "So how close are you to finishing it?"

At this, Le Paraodox's smirk faded a bit. "On the contrary...the time machine cannot be fixed. I'm only taking it so I can pawn it off somewhere."

"So you're just giving up?! You're okay with being stranded here?!"

"Yes," he said, now smug again. "It won't be so bad. I'll adapt. I'll build up my criminal empire anew, and then Le Paradox will rule the Egyptian underworld!"

Sly just shook his head. "You're insane. Though I don't know why that surprises me."

He growled. "Enough talk! Die, Cooper!"

Le Paradox leapt at him and swung with his rapier. Sly was quick to bring up his cane to block it and the two weapons clashed. Sly narrowed his eyes in anger. "Alright Le Paraodx, if you want me to beat the stink out of you again, that's fine by me."

Sly pushed Le Paradox back and swung at him in a downward arc. Le Paradox jumped the swing again and raised his rapier high to bring it down on Sly's head. The raccoon rolled out of the way and got back up again just in time to block a thrust. He spun his cane to catch the rapier with it's hook and yanked it down, letting him knee Le Paradox in the chin. He jumped back to get some distance. As Sly came after him, Le Paradox kicked sand into his face, opening him up just enough for the skunk to make a slash at him. Sly sensed the danger in time to dodge backwards, but still got a small cut across his chest.

"Don't even want to fight fair anymore, huh?" Sly said coldly and opened his eyes, only to see Le Paradox taking off again with the sack. He growled and gave chase, following him across a few more rooftops until they reached a set of stone columns jutting up out of the ground. Neither of them slowed down and the chase continued as they spire jumped from column to column. Sly managed to catch up and swung, but Le Paradox whirled around to block it with his rapier. They clashed weapons like that for a little while longer, with Le Paradox now jumping backwards while still warding off his blows.

A single move changed it. Le Paradox blocked another swing, but instead of attacking back, he slashed at the column below him as he jumped to the next. Sly instinctively pulled back to avoid the blade and missed the jump. His reflexes were fast enough that he hooked his cane onto the top as he fell, but this gave Le Paradox a huge lead.

Knowing he would have a hard time catching him on foot now, Sly stared down at his cane and made a decision. The last time he tried this didn't end so well, but he was determined to stop Le Paradox at any cost. He stretched his arm back and flung the cane forward with all his might. The weapon spun a few times in the air and struck the skunk in the back just as he tried to jump across another rooftop, making him fall into the alleyway between the two buildings.

Sly landed on the roof himself and picked up his cane, glaring down into the alley. "So Le Paradox, you ready to give up y-oh boy."

Le Paradox was down there alright, and so was the sack containing the incomplete time machine, but they were joined by the group of sand cats he had humiliated earlier. They had Le Paradox surrounded and the head cat held her khopesh tight against his throat. Already, the skunk's bravado was gone and his eyes were silently pleading for help. "Now this is a pleasant surprise," the violet-eyed cat smiled. "I was hoping to take your head tonight, but this one will make a nice consolation prize."

"Let him go, lady. I have no problem taking you guys down too."

"Isis," the sand cat introduced herself. "And you're in no position to be giving demands, Slytunkhamen Cooper."

Sly's eyes widened in recognition of the name. "That's right, I know who you are," Isis continued. "I couldn't tell in those bizarre clothes you were wearing before, but now it is all too blatant. How could I not recognize such a big name?" The mocking tone in her voice was evident.

Sly didn't bother to correct her. It would only make this more complicated and he was still a Cooper after all. "What do you want?"

"Hmm..." Isis tapped one khopesh against her chin in thought, while keeping the other firmly at Le Paradox's throat. "First of all, give back all of that gold you stole from us."

Sly shrugged. "Can't. Spent it."

"WHAT?! You spent all of it?!" The sand cats seethed. Le Paradox shot Sly a look that clearly read "What the hell are you doing?!". Sly ignored him. After all the crap he put him through tonight, he was fine letting him sweat a little. Technically, they still had some of the gold too, but he saw no reason to give it up if he didn't have to.

Isis calmed herself down, if only marginally. "Alright then..." She signaled to one of her cohorts, who hefted up the brown sack, while she pressed her blade even tighter against Le Paradox's throat. "I'll make you a deal. Your friend, or the sack. Choose one, and we'll take the other."

"Ooh, how cruel!" one of the other sand cats said, in a voice that sounded much more delighted than horrified.

The skunk's face fell, as his prospects of surviving this encounter dropped enormously. Sly glared fiercely at him, but his choice was inevitable. "Let him go. You can have the sack."

Le Paradox was shocked, as was Isis. "Interesting...this must be that famous Cooper sentiment I've heard so much about. Fine with me. I don't know what's in that sack, but for you two to fight over it, it must be quite valuable indeed. Don't worry, I'll make good use of it."

Isis took her blade from Le Paradox's throat and shoved him away. The sand cats then drew small pellets and tossed them to the ground, creating a smokescreen that completely filled the alleyway. When the smoke cleared, the sand cats, and the time machine, were gone.

Sly slapped his forehead. "Fantastic."