Chapter 1 - Sweet and Sour Dreams
The name's Sly Cooper, and I'm not just a thief, a master thief, because I only steal from other criminals. I'm from a long line of master thieves, and recently I got to meet some of them in a time machine built by Bentley, the brains of my gang, and he put it in my other friend Murray's Van, the brawn of the gang. We travelled in time together and fixed the Thievius Raccoonus from being erased from history by Le Paradox. He wanted to destroy my ancestors by stealing their prized canes from history to prove he was a better thief. But that didn't work out for him. As he glided away from me he hit an oncoming passenger jet, which tore off the parachute and sent him flying into the river Seine. I don't know whether he's dead or has been caught but I know he lost. Then, everything just went bright. I couldn't see anything. I saw the time portal open up because of the time machine that was in the blimp. Once I exited the tunnel, I was in Egypt. But the blimp was still going to crash. I had no parachute as that stinky skunk Le Paradox took it after I offered my hand. I looked around for anything that could save me. Pieces of the blimp's fabric were tearing off so I tore some off then jumped off whist holding it and the cane in my mouth. The last thing I remembered up to that point was falling to the ground and hitting it hard.
Cairo, Egypt, 1298 B.C.
I woke up later near sunset and realised where exactly I was in Cairo near the pyramids. A pulsating feeling coming from my right foot, I try to move it but that only makes the pain reach excruciating levels. I try to get up and put weight on it and that doesn't go well either. Honestly, my ankle was already hurting from the mech machine crushing it in medieval England, but I didn't feel that bad so I kept going, I would have got Bentley to check it out after that mission, but I didn't get the opportunity and now I paid the price. I couldn't put any weight on it at all, I refused to let my cane become a walking stick so I hopped through the sand until I came across the town itself, everyone came and stared at me, like I was some freak. People shunned me away as the dusk was beginning to turn into night, then out of nowhere, I was taken off the street and into someone's house. But before I could meet the guy he had got some sort of sleeping drink into me and before I could do anything, I was out. So here I am inside my own head. Talking to myself. Just me.
Now i'm walking along a street, in a nice tuxedo. Like the one I wore with Carmelita to our dinner parties and exhibitions when we were together. In my right hand is my cane, in the left hand is a bouquet of roses. I must be going to meet her now. I arrive at this hotel, the 5 star "Ritz". This place is so expensive even I have trouble picking up the bill here. I walk through the lobby and into the elevator. It's just another normal night, people are doing what ever they do when they go to an expensive hotel; ordering food from the restaurant, slouching at the bar after having too many, People checking out to a late flight. None knowing who I really was, which is how I like it. Just slipping through the corridor with such anonymity is empowering, it's much easier if you can just walk inside to the target because no one knows who you really are. I press the up button on the elevator; the closest one is on level 24. A long wait ensues for me, waiting is just like throwing away time. The only thing that keeps me sane is the knowledge that soon I will be with Carmelita. The ping snaps me out of my mini trance and I get into the ornately decorated elevator, only me inside this car. Being the thief I am, I notice the overhead exit in the elevator, I know that it leads to the exterior and the cables that I can navigate to get wherever I need to go in case of emergency. But tonight, I don't suspect I'll need to open it. The ping arrives, and I'm at the 36th floor, the penthouse suite. How much will this cost me? It doesn't matter, she's worth every penny. I open the door and there she is, as beautiful as ever, ace Interpol agent Carmelita Fox, wearing what I must say is very beautiful dress. She turns her head at the sound of the door creaking against the hinges. She gets up and walks slowly to me, her eyes, as piercing as ever, never leave mine. I'm feeling slightly nervous as she walks to me, I give the flowers but she throws them on the ground in a casual manner, I thought she'd like them. But now, her lips meet mine and mine meet hers. I feel the nervousness being replaced with relaxation.
The next thing I see is me in bed, lying awake, watching the ceiling with Carmelita fast asleep. There's that itch again, that itch nothing but the thrill of the completion of a well planned and executed heist could scratch. I get up out of the bed, I tip toe around her side to the wardrobe to fetch my clothes, I've done this too many times, whether it was sneaking into the principals office at school or into some crime bosses headquarters, I have mastered the art of sneaking by foot. I open the wardrobe as quietly as possible to find that my tux isn't there, it is replaced by a set of clothing I've not used but know what it is. Usually when I go thieving, I wear the same clothes I've worn since childhood, a blue tight shirt with sleeves that just go past the elbows and length that goes below the waist and flares at the bottom to make room for my tail. Blue gloves with a yellow band around the wrist, blue boots that go up the lower leg, a belt whose clasp has the family logo. My blue flat cap and most of all, my cane, my father's cane, one of only two things I have of his. The cane was the only part of either the tux or thieving outfit that remained. What replaced it was something that is more, stealthy. A tight, black, long sleeved shirt with karki long pants with a tan belt to hold it up, neatly pinned to the coat hanger this all rests on is a pair of black gloves. A pair of short black boots lies on the bottom of the wardrobe.
I guess I don't have a choice as to what I wear so I put this all on. It doesn't look like a half bad combination. Then I realise what it is, it's my 'other' thieving outfit. But no matter, I take the backpack containing my parachute and go to the balcony. I look down to the city below. I jump off the building and open the parachute; I glide down to the 3rd floor balcony of another building. Once I land, it's like I've been transported into another place. The street that I saw from that balcony isn't the same quiet late night street I was expecting. In fact, the hotel has disappeared. I look back and the road and the scene below have changed. The streets are now packed with people out for a good time. I now feel a piece of paper in my hand, I take a look at it, all it has is the picture of the building in front of me and the picture of what's inside, a diamond ring that is one of the biggest in the world. I need no invitation to start. I jump across to a overhanging tree branch and get on top of that, I pass through the trees branches to get to the other side of the road. What I see below is a long line with bouncers guarding the entrance. I know this place, it's that club was thinking about earlier. I look down the street, expecting to see the gang walking up the street like I remember, but that doesn't happen. Then something catches my eye, one person flashes his card and walks straight in. They must have a VIP ticket. I need one of those to get inside, luckily for me, I spot someone only to eager to flash his card to the waiting patrons in the line, flaunting his supposed greatness at them just because he could pass by the line. He puts it back in his pocket, now it's my turn. I go to the lower reaches of the tree and get down from the tree and land behind him. One swipe of the cane and his card is no longer on him. I quickly move to get inside, the bouncer checks the pass and I get let in.
The sound of the music in here is deafening. Constant bass is pumping through the air, or is it the alcohol? Anyway, I look inside, people are partying on the dance floor and in a booth to the right, I see the unmistakable shimmer that signifies diamonds, the arm the ring is attached to is hanging outside, I can't see who it is though. I sneak around the dance floor and get closer. The target is alone and once I get close enough I realise why, the foul smell around him is excruciating. I hold my breath and get I side view of him. No, it can't be. But he's, Le Paradox? The music and the smell all drain away and are replaced by rage and anger, I wasn't going to make the same mistake, and he needed to be ended, here. I walk up to him and get ready to strike.
Meanwhile languishing in his secret underground lab is Bentley, still searching for any signs of Sly, nothing ever turns up though, he is used to it now. The constant rejection that manifests itself in a question mark is an everyday occurrence for him. But Bentley keeps trying, never allowing himself to believe that Sly is lost forever in whatever interpretation that associates itself with the meaning of lost. But a whirring of a motor gets his attention; it's the rotating arm of a laser printer that sits near his computer. It prints out one rectangular piece of cardboard 4 inches by 6. It's the 3rd time this week that this has happened. It's the pink mouse Penelope that has corresponded through these mysterious postcards. Bentley knows who they are from, but the first two don't make any sense. The first one shows her escape from jail, something that law enforcement agencies have no clue how it was done. The second is the inside of a lab, but not just any lab, it's the lab where Bentley gets his materials from; A top secret lab built into the mountains of Switzerland. This new card finishes printing and Bentley adds it to the others. It depicts an alley in Paris, what looks like some random graffiti tag to some is the key that unlocks Bentley's mind. Finally the puzzle makes sense. Without hesitation, he grabs his gear, reloads his bombs, gets the dart gun and jets off to reunite the gang in hope that they can find the raccoon that they so dearly miss.