AN Well, sorry to keep you all waiting. Between Pokemon Y, exams, ACT, a college research paper, and the cycle of sickness and injury that has been plaguing my family as of late, I haven't had much time to type up a new chapter. But I'm back, and with my longest chapter to date. So, lets continue this insanity.

Sly 5: Return of the Thievious Racoonus

Ch11

Message by Force

About 700 miles of the coast of Japan...

3rd Person POV: The seas were calm this far out from anything else. The winds were calm and the moon cast a beautiful reflection on the Pacific waters. But that mattered little to the 800ft long ship sailing at nearly unheard of speeds half a mile below the surface. The ship, to the untrained eye, would have been a beautiful ship, looking somewhat similar to a cross between a submarine and a orca. Curved section jutted out at places to help increase its speed underwater to it's incredible 250 knots, and a series of fins were arrayed around it, filled with enough intricate sensor arrays and communication gear to make a modern intelligence agency envious. A incredible new type of reactor, a fusion reactor, powered the behemoth. It sucked in the water from the seas, separated it, and burned the hydrogen to fuel the ship. The ship is capable of accessing and hacking any computer on the planet or any satellite in orbit undetected. But it is not just an intelligence vessel. She was very well capable of defending herself in a fight. Twenty smaller bumps along the sides of the ship hid away miniature 20mm railguns, each with a range good for the horizon and a 270 degree field of fire. Panels down the deck hid away eight vertical launch tubes for various types of missiles. Eight torpedo tubes were located in both her stern and bow. Twelve anti-missile missile batteries were also concealed in the other panels on the ship, along with close in point defense mini guns and twelve experimental point defense lasers rounded out her anti-missile defenses. A sliding door in her bow hid a combination of hanger deck and vehicle storage bay. On her back was a helipad capable of handling anything from the biggest cargo helicopter to the smallest drone. And in a long sliding section of the main deck was a gun like no other: a seven barreled, fully automatic rail-mini gun, just as long ranged as the smaller ones, but with 40mm shells and a rate of fire of 1000 rpm. She wasn't part of any military. She belong to no nation, appeared in no registry. No one would know just who she belonged to, unless they saw her name or the emblem that graced her bow. She burst from the waters and all could see her in her true glory. She was the Cooper, her emblem the blue masked raccoon face of the most wanted group of thieves on earth. And she was making full speed for Japan, on the hunt for her gang"s leader and founder. But she wasn't the only thing on the hunt.

The Bridge

Carm's POV: "I have a vision of danger heading for us." Boy, the Guru sure had us on edge. It would seem to the orthodox that basing you entire security of a vessel this high tech on the words of a mystic, but he had been right an stranger things. But who could find us? We had no heat signature to be tracked, Bentley had hacked every satellite on earth to delete our image autocratically, and the best active camo on earth, which uses the same methods as my suit. We are un-traceable! That was what Bentley and Penelope had designed the Cooper for, to be the stealthiest thing ever made. But, everything has some weakness, but who could be looking for us? Penelope, last we knew, was so far off the radar that it was ridiculous. The Fiendish Five, the Claw Gang, and Cyrille's henchmen were all still behind bars, and Barkley made sure that Interpol never knew just where we were. There was a new person on the criminal scene though, at least, that's what Barkley said last time we talked. Someone was kidnapping the leading scientist and, oddly enough, sci-fi writers on the earth. They seemed unrelated, but the same message was left at all the abduction sights: "Another Verse to raid, Another Verse to make". Weirdest cult I had ever heard of, but they seemed to have some pretty heavy firepower. Shell casings were found at a government lad that had been hit in Sweden that were roughly 40mm rounds, or roughly 1.62in bore. That was a bit overkill in my opinion. A military research lad in the US was rumored to have been hit by something with a 200mm cannon that disabled a Abrams tank that was guarding the facility. The world was a bit on edge, and Barkley had asked me to see if Sly was willing to offer his services to catching these wackos when we found him. "If that was him." a voice in my head told me. "Whatever he was wearing was not of this world. And where did he learn to use a sword like that?" It was a bit odd... wait whats that blip on radar!?

The Blip

3rd Person POV: The blip in question was the most usual aircraft that anyone on the Cooper had yet seen, and that was saying something for people that had fought a giant Whale-Fly thing. The aircraft was roughly 60ft long, with a ridiculous 70 ft wing span. It was a blood red color, and the wings curved back slightly. The cock pit was roughly ten feet back from the nose of the plane, which ended in a razor sharp point. The cockpit itself was recessed into a large fin that stuck up 6ft off of the plane and also curved backwards. There were no visible engines on the outside, but the large red glare in the rear indicated it was some type of rocket plane. But the most distinguishing thing about it was the fact that it was doing a continuous circle around the Cooper at Mach 4. Given the fact that it was not responding to any attempt at communication, it was deemed hostile. It would be the first true fight that the Cooper would have, and a bit anticlimactic. A ship designed to fight a small navy on its own versus a single plane? How could it not win?

Bentley's POV: "Well Bentley, it isn't responding to anything," said Jin King. She was our newest member, having been with us for about a month, after she told the Panda King she would not stay home while he aided us. "Call it payment for saving me from Tsao" was exactly what she told him as to the reason why. She was just as skilled with explosives as her father, and was an excellent communications expert. She had was capable of finding a way to get a signal anywhere, so if she couldn't get a hold of this thing, it didn't want to talk. "The plan?" asked the Panda King, our fire control expert. "Fire the vertical tube SAMs, and warm up the secondary batteries of rail guns. The anti-missile systems should already be up." A smile came to me. No matter how fast this thing was, he couldn't outmaneuver these SAMs. They were basically a vertical launch version of the AIM-120 Slammer missile, with a few modifications. They had an extended range of three-hundred miles, a speed of mach 5, and the most advanced guidance system and penetration aids on earth. Nothing could avoid them. "At least, you hope," said that little voice in my head that always represented my doubts. "They have never been fired live, in combat or the lab, just simulated. Who knows what will happen?" It had a point. But when four rippled out of the tubes in rapid order, I knew they would work. "Wait, WHAT?!"

3rd Person POV: The target of this strike wasn't just going to sit around for this. Indeed, he had been waiting for it. Instantly, the plane accelerated to a speed of Mach 6. His ECM systems switched on, flooding the missiles with false images and jamming so fierce it literally fried the circuits in one, rendering it inert. The next two failed to connect when the plane suddenly stopped going forward, and defied the laws of aerodynamics by flipping over and instantly reversed course at mach 6. The two missiles instead connected with each other. The fourth was persistent however. By this time, the Cooper had added its AM mini-guns and rail guns to the mix, trying to fill the air with flack like a ship in World War II.. To avoid this, the pilot did the unthinkable. He rammed the sea at mach 7. But before he hit, the canopy of the fighter opened and he ejected on to the Cooper.

Carm's POV: We all rushed to the deck, save Jin and Dimitri (the navigator), to face our unwanted border. When I saw him, two things instantly came to my mind. The first was that he had a suit of armor similar to what Sly had when we saw him in Paris. But instead of looking like clothes, they truly looked like armor. Long bulk plates of metal, alternating between black and a weird shade of green covered what looked like a skin tight black suit of scales that showed at the joints. The helmet was the same color, but with a golden V on top, and covered everything but his face. The face was instead covered by a mouth guard and and a green visor that hid his face completely. The second thing was how wrong he looked. While the suit his his appearance, a few things were just wrong. His arm and leg length indicated he was some kind of primate, yet he had no kind of tale. The muscles that showed through the armor were incredible, jet they didn't suit any ape I could think of. And his face had absolutely no kind of snout or muzzle, yet he was slightly canine in look as well. Whatever he was, he must have some kind of connection to Sly, given the kind of tech he had displayed. Or maybe he worked for Penelope? Or this new wacko group? "Who are you?" was Bentley's traditional, yet rather apt question.

The Armored Figure's POV: "Well, time to deliver my message," I thought as I reached to draw my sword. That would trigger an aggressive response, but it was necessary. Plus, I had to work a few kinks out of the suit. Murray was first to react to my sword, charging forward to stop me. Three blows to each knee and his head latter and he was on the ground knocked out. "That should keep him busy." Next, the Panda King and Guru came at me together. While the King tried to distract me with explosives, the Guru lept to my back. I had a surprise for him though. One quick psychic attack of my own and he was exhausted. King then tried his Flame-Fu only to find out two things. One: Chogokin is fire proof; and two: it's really is not a good idea to hit it as hard as you can with your bare hands. When he grabbed his hand in pain, I grabbed him and threw him on top of Murray. That just left Bently and the woman in the suit. While I didn't recognize her immediately, I had a good guess as to who she is. "Time to test a theory." I thought as I pulled out one of my daggers. She came at me with her cane, a perfect copy of Sly's made from carbon nanotubes. Blade met staff, and our fight was on.

Carm's POV: Crap, this guy's good. He hasn't even broke a sweat! Bentley can't intervene with his bombs because of how close we are together, and I doubt the darts would be of any use. But why am I holding against him? "It is almost like he is testing you" said that same voice from earlier as I blocked a slash across my right arm. His technique is pretty good to. He fights like a master with his knife, something very few people would notice. Most people I had fought with a knife tried to stab, but he had yet to stop using it in a reverse grip in his right hand. Every move was always a long slash, but coming at me so fast it left me on the defensive. He stopped his attack for a moment an I pressed the advantage.

The Armored Figure's POV: Well, she can hold in a fight. And the readings... she will be worth the investment. Now, to confirm a last thought. Moving at my true speed, I slashed across her the left side of her face, just deep enough to tear open the fabric and let the face mask fall off. Starring back in astonishment was one Carmelita Montoya Fox, formerly Inspector Fox. "Now that that's over," I thought, backing off," time to send a last message"... what did I just bump into? Dimitri's voice suddenly came to life over the main speaker on the ship. " EAT THIS, CRACKERBOX!" Next I new, a 20mm shell moving at over Mach 30 smashed into me at point blank range and blasted me off the ship, but didn't penetrate my armor.

Bentley's POV: He was off the ship now, thanks to Dimitri, but I saw the impact. The round collapsed when it hit. It didn't penetrate like it should have at that speed and range. It didn't explode, like the kinetic energy output should have . It collapsed. Just what was that gut. At least the impact should have killed him. But that was dashed when the fighter from earlier rose from the water, the insanely strong figure on it, holding a throwing dagger in hand and hurled I at me. My life flashed before my eyes as it missed and lodged blade first into the deck. The plane flew away, faster than it had even during the battle, and we were left to look at the blade, with an SD card and a paper raccoon

face attached to the hilt.

A message delivered by force of arms. What could the data be?

And who could the plane belong to?Who flew it,

and what is it's connection to Sly?

All will be reveled in due time.

AN Well, sorry it has been awhile, but I have been a bit preoccupied. I hope to do more soon, but given how things are with my family at the moment, it may be awhile before the next chapter. Just one thing before I go. Someone try and tell me just who was that masked stranger. And if you get that reference, you just earned a cookie.