Sly Cooper and the Gang in: A Thief Lost in Time

by MermaidMaye

After the disappearance of Sly Cooper on La Paradox's blimp, the gang hopes that Sly will miraculously come home. Nearly a month later, an alarm signals where the Thievius Racoonus is stored. With Bentley's brains, Murray's brawn, and Carmelita's hope that her child will know it's father, will the gang be able to find Sly Cooper on a pirate ship with one of his female ancestors?

2. Chapter 2

Carmelita's POV

A few hours later, Carmelita awoke to a knock on the door. She heard Bentley's voice yell through the door, "I managed to isolate a DNA sample from the right year. The van is all fired up and ready to go whenever you are." Carmelita pulled herself off the bed and made a quick check of her clothing to make sure that it covered her stomach before walking to open the door. "I'm ready. Let's go find Sly," she said as she walked through the doorway. She and Bentley joined Murray in the backseat of the van before he said, "Alright, Bentley. Time to fire this baby up!" Bentley turned some knobs and started inputting data into the time machine while Murray started up the van. The machine that sat on top of the van started to make a whirring noise before Murray hit the gas. A time portal opened in front of the van, and the gang was off, speeding through a time tunnel to the year 1615.

Sly's POV

It had been at least two weeks since Sly had been separated from the gang and Carmelita. When he first awoke, he realized that he was in Ancient Egypt. The problem was that he didn't know exactly what time period it was, except for that the pyramids had already been built. As he passed into a nearby city, he stole some clothes from a clothesline to blend in and made his way into the town. The town was small and he didn't have any money, so he took to the market area to find work. Sly went to each market stall, asking if anyone needed any work in exchange for food. It seemed hopeless after many rejections, but finally, an older fox offered him some coin and food in exchange for some heavy lifting throughout the day at his vegetable stand. Sly immediately agreed, and the two got to talking. The old fox asked Sly how he came to the town. Sly replied, "I was traveling for work, but things fell through. I'm just trying to get home to my wife. By any chance, can you tell me what day it is exactly. I lost track of the days as I walked through the desert?" When the old fox replied with the date, he realized that the Egyptians did not use the same calendar as people in present day Paris did. "I don't believe we use the same calendar. Do you use any others besides that one," Sly asked. "We do, actually. The Gregorian calendar. I believe the year is 1615 on that calendar if I'm not mistaken. Son, do you know where you're headed to and in what direction?" "I don't exactly know my way home, and I lost my map and bag after getting robbed." "Thieves. That's awful." Sly nodded and replied, "It was. They took everything except the clothes on my back." "Well son, I want you to get home to your wife. So, if you work for me, I'll give you a few coins, a bag, and an old hammock that my old bones can't use anymore." "My home is on the coast of the Red Sea. If you could point me in the right direction and help me, I would truly feel blessed," Sly replied, remembering a pirate ancestor he had in that year. With that, the old fox went to pack some things, telling Sly to watch the stand for him. At the end of the day, the old fox let Sly sleep in his home on the floor. The following day, Sly left with a small pack, some food, a hammock, and some coins that the old fox could spare. Sly gave the old fox a handshake and told him that if he could ever repay the favor, he would. He knew that he wouldn't be able to, but maybe he could find someone who could.

After that, Sly stumbled from place to place, trying to find somewhere safe. On a daily basis, he would find someone to work for to make coins or get food. Sometimes, they would offer him a place to stay for the night as well, but not often. During those nights, he would spend time in a hammock that he made high up in the trees. On this day, he was walking through a coastal town, somewhere near modern-day Arabia, when he came across ships at a dock. He hadn't found a place to work that day and was nearly out of food, so he decided to ask if there was any work that he could do for some coin. Making his way to a man who looked to be a captain of one of the ships, he stopped and asked, "Ahoy, sir. My name is Sly. I was wondering if your crew needed any help today in exchange for some coin or food." "Ahh, lad. It wouldn't be me that you would have to ask. You must ask Captain Cooper," he said, pointing towards the mast of the ship. With those words, Sly could not believe his eyes. He recognized that woman as his ancestor, Henriette "One-Eyed" Cooper. "Ay, Captain Cooper. You have a lad down here looking for some work," the man yelled. The female grabbed onto the rope of the mast with her cane before sliding down to the ship deck below. "Ah, and who might you be," the woman asked as she came to face Sly. "My name is Sly. Sly Cooper... and I know this may sound crazy, but I'm your descendant from the future." The woman looked him up and down before making a move to apprehend him. Sly dodged her grab as the woman yelled, "Catch him and tie him up, mates. I think that we will be taking this one as captive. No one pretends to be a Cooper and gets away with it." Sly quickly grabbed onto a rope and attempted to climb his way out of the crew's grasp.

As he attempted to make his escape, Henriette made chase. Sly used his paraglider to fly down to a building, spire jumping across light fixtures, running across buildings, continuing for over a mile. Henriette barely missed a beat of the chase, keeping up with him. Then, Sly came to the dead end of an alley. There was nothing that he could grab onto, nothing to latch his cane and propel himself into the air, not even a tight place to squeeze into. He was literally trapped. Henriette appeared at the end of the alleyway, her one eye looking him up and down. "You made quite the chase. But, like all rats, I was able to corner you. Now, tell me who you really are." "Look, I can explain. I'm from the future. I've read about your adventures in the Thievius Racoonus. Some of the ancestors that came before you included Slytunkhamen Cooper I and II, Salim al-Kupar, Sir Galleth Cooper, Slaigh MacCooper, Rioichi Cooper. I actually had the chance to meet Salim, Sir Galleth, and Rioichi during my time traveling adventures recently. I guess now I get to meet you as well. Your father was Rioichi, right?" "If you knew my father, what was the move that he recorded into the Thievius Racoonus?" "The Ninja Spire jump. He also had another move that he taught me when I visited him in Japan called the Leaping Dragon." "How did you end up here, Sly Cooper?" "I was trying to save the Cooper line from an evil madman named La Paradox. He was stealing their canes in an attempt to end the Cooper line. I had him cornered on the end of his flying blimp when he stole my paraglider bag and jumped off the end of the blimp. The blimp had a time machine built into it that broke, ripping a hole in the time-space continuum. I couldn't get off and ended up in a time portal. Then, I ended up in this day. But, a small change to the Thievius Racoonus could help me make my way back to my friends. Can I please join your crew until I can find my way back home?" The woman lowered the cane that she had been pointing at him. "I guess. I have many questions and expect honest answers. One lie, and I throw you off my ship. Do you understand?" "Yes, Henriette. Thank you for this chance. I've actually manned my own pirate ship in the past with my friends, so I know my way around a boat." "Well, I hope you make a great asset to my crew. Now, let's go. Dinner should be up shortly, and you look like you need to get some food in you."

Within the week, Sly earned Henriette's trust. He answered questions about her father, even taking the time to teach her proper Ninja Spire jumps and how to perform the Leaping Dragon. He worked hard throughout the day, making sure that he earned his keep. During his time working with Henriette's crew, he could see why she earned the title of the "Most Feared Captain of the Seven Seas" during her time. She was fearless, sinking a record number of ships and looting a large number more. Henriette got to know more about Sly, his friends, and Carmelita. She came to realize that even though she wasn't a raccoon, she was probably the closest thing to a Cooper there was during his time. She knew that deep in his heart, Sly truly loved the vixen and hoped that she would show up soon to claim him from her ship. She felt guilty as the days ticked by, knowing that Sly's chances of being saved lessened by the day. She made changes each night to her section of the Thievius Racoonus, hoping that at least one would be translated into the future copy.

A few weeks later, Sly awoke in the middle of the night to yelling that was coming from the ship's deck. He knew exactly what was going on if the events from the Thievius Racoonus served as a reminder. He grabbed a strip of cloth, wrapping it around his eyes and cutting one small slit over one eye. He ran to the deck, finding the crew under Clockwerk's spell. The only one still fighting was Henriette. He watched as the woman fired the ship's cannons against the giant bird. He grabbed the wheel of the ship, guiding it away from the rocks that it was coming close to. As Henriette continued to fight, Sly continued to guide the ship safely across the waters. Finally, it seemed that the battle came to a close as Clockwerk was unable to keep up. One final hit from the cannons sent him into the ocean, and Sly sailed as fast as he could in the opposite direction.

Henriette came up to him, wiping the sweat from her brow and saying, "If it weren't for you, we would have been sunk. I think I have just the idea to get you home." That night, he joined her in her bunker as she sketched a scene of her pirate ship with Clockwerk on the horizon. "You know who that bird was? I can tell." "Yes. His name is Clockwerk. He killed my mother and father on the night that I was supposed to inherit the Thievius Racoonus. His gang, the Fiendish Five, tore the book apart and separated it across the globe. I was left orphaned without my family's history. Then, I met Bentley and Murray in the orphanage, and we became the Cooper Gang. We stole back the book and stopped Clockwerk for good. He won't be coming back for me or my future children." Henriette said, "Already been alive for thousands of years and still will live for hundreds more. That saddens me. But I am proud of you and all that you accomplish in your time. It seems that out of all the Coopers, you were the first to destroy the never-ending cycle of death and destruction." "Clockwerk was alive since Caveman Bob Cooper's time. That was around 10,000 BC. It was the amount of hate that Clockwerk held for the Cooper family that kept him alive for all that time. When I caught up with him the last time, I finally destroyed the hate chip that no one else could." "Well, I know that your parents aren't alive to tell you this, but I am proud of you and all that you accomplished. You went through the wringer and still came out on top. And for that, you are different from every other Cooper." Sly gave Henriette a hug and said, "Thank you. I'm going to go get some sleep. We have a lot of work to do in the morning." With that, they each said goodnight, and Sly went back to the crew's bunker. What Sly did not know was that Henriette stayed up for a little bit longer, adding a special note to the bottom of the photo that would most likely not be translated out of the Thievius Racoonus.