From The Private Journal of Sly Cooper

It had been a while since I'd been back in the U.S.A.

Shame this visit was for business: Murray always said he wanted to take Izuku to any city that had a comic book superhero associated with it. And to be honest, their museums do have some tempting targets.

Maybe another time.

Next up on the Fiendish Five was the notorious Muggshot, ruthless muscle. What he lacked in brains, he made up for in brawn.

Turns out he wasn't always that way. He grew up as the runt of the litter, the neighborhood weakling. The only friends he could turn to were usually found on the big screen. It was there that he spotted his first gangster, and he knew instantly that's what he wanted to be. He spent the rest of his youth working hard to get there, fueled by his dreams of great power and respect.

With enough perspiration, he realized that dream. He'd become a hard-boiled, street-brawling, tough-as-nails gangster, ensuring that he'd never be picked on or pushed around again. So he's holed up in Mesa City, huh? I've always wanted to go to that thriving American boomtown.

Part of me wonders and worries if Murray would've wound up like that if not for me or Bentley. And God forbid Izuku fell down that path…..

7 YEARS AGO

MESA CITY, UNITED STATES

The van pulled to a halt at the end of the stable road winding around the stone pillar that led to Mesa City. Beyond there, a stone bridge stretched over the deep chasm below, not strong enough to support the van and everyone in it driving across it.

While not the only entrance to the city, careful study showed it was the least guarded by patrols as nature did a good job keeping anyone from using this route. While an effective deterrent to law enforcement, a momentary obstacle at best for Coopers.

"Hey, Sly! I thought you said Mesa City was going to be loud and busy. This looks more like a ghost town!" Bentley noted over the Binocucom.

"That's unfortunate. I was hoping the busy streets would make it easier to sneak through the place." Sly frowned.

"Maybe we can figure out what happened," Izuku suggested. "Look, there are a lot of poles there!"

Sly smirked, realizing Izuku was right. The special pages of the Thievius Raccoonus they got from Raleigh earlier detailed the exploits of Rioichi Cooper, Sly's ancestor from Feudal Japan, who patented the Ninja Spire Jump that allowed him to perch on even the most narrow of points to sneak through the thickly fortified castles he robbed from.

Because Izuku was able to also learn the tricks of the Thievius Raccoonus inexplicably, he followed Sly as they hopped across the strung lights. At one point, they had to hop down to ground level, which drew the attention of a large guard dog who sat up from his bone to growl threateningly.

Sly got ready to act but Izuku rushed forward and suddenly began scratching the dog behind one ear, whispering some gentle words to it as it lulled to peaceful sleep.

"Well, that was effective," Sly noted.

"I learned it from that Dog Whisperer in Mumbai." Izuku beamed.

It wasn't the only guard dog the duo encountered on the way into the city, but each was dealt with the same way. Before long, they caught sight of a passage lined with blinking lights on the floor.

"What's with those flashing lights?"

"The latest in high-tech security — electronic floor sensors. Step on them and you're a goner." Bentley explained over the Binocucom.

"Then we won't do that," Sly offered teasingly, moving swiftly past the obstacle, Izuku following close behind.

At that point, the only path forward led past guards, forcing Izuku to make use of a special knockout dart.

"At least this way they won't know for sure where we entered from, since we left conscious guards behind us, right?"

"Very good, little buddy," Sly praised, ruffling the boy's hair. "That's exactly right."

A brief detour from the main path to a distant pinnacle led the pair to the Vault containing yet another page of the Thievius Raccoonus, this one covering Rob McCooper's Explosive Hat Technique, which involved infusing inner energy into copies of one's hat to turn it into a mine that could be lobbed out where guards might stumble across it, knocking themselves out from the release of energy.

"…Think I'll stay off that one until you're a little older, buddy." Sly smiled at a now pouting Izuku. "Or at least save it for when you're not around."

"But I want to use my hair to make explosions!" The little boy pouted.

Present day

"ABSOLUTAMENTE NO!" Carmalita snapped, making her son cow.

"lo siento mama." Izuku muttered.

Back to the story!

"Aw come on, Sly!" Murray said over the comm-link. "Let Izu try! After all, it's never too early for your first explosion!"

"That coming from the hippo who blew up the orphnage's chimmey?" Bentley added. "When he was eight?"

"Well, how was I supposed to know Pop and candies were dangerous mixed together?" Murray retorted.

Deciding to turn off the comm-link, the duo soon made their way past the locked gates leading into the rest of the city.

What greeted them was a dusty shopping center, tumbelweeds rolling around and wind-chimes being the only things make noise.

"….This is creepy." Izuku muttered, holding onto Sly.

"Daddy, look!"

Sly and Izuku turned to see two humans looking down from a hotel room's padio: One an adult with orangeish brown hair, the other a little girl with blonde hair.

"Um, hello down there!" the man waved shyly. "How did you get in?"

Sly now KNEW something was up; these two seemed to be the only people, aside from Mugshot's goons.

"…Can we talk?" Sly asked, getting a nod from the man. The Racoon then took Izuku into his arms and, after some of his ancestors' tricks, made his way onto the padio. "The name's Sly Cooper. This is my little brother, Izuku."

Izuku shyly waved back, for which the man smiled.

"I'm David Shield. This is my daughter, Melissa."

The little girl offered a hand for Izuku to shake, which he took.

"Melissa? Why don't you and Izuku go to the game room while me and Sly talk?"

Melissa's eyes beamed, as did Izuku's and Sly's: The Racoon Beastkin happy for Izuku to have a friend his age.

As the two played a Hero game, David made Sly some coffee as he beagn to explain what had happened.

"We came here to bury my wife." David explained sadly, making the mood dampen.

"I…I'm so sorry." Sly said, genuinely meaning it. Sure, he'd never married and by the looks of things, Carmalita didn't feel the same way for him, but he couldn't bear to imagine life without her.

"My thanks, She was only sick for a few days." David continued. "She was born and raised here, heck, we even met here, so…And I thought it'd help Melissa."

Sly sipped his coffee.

"I can imagine that for an I-Island scientist, arranging that was tricky."

"It would be, if I wasn't All Might's original sidekick." David mused, waiting for a shocked response. He got none.

Sly had known who this man was the moment he saw him; Izuku had scoured the Internet to find and learn as much about heroes as possible, and David's name had come up.

Realizing that he wouldn't get the shock he associated with dropping Toshi's name, David continued.

"We got into Mesa City no problem and the burial went off without a hitch. We had fun for two days…and then the airport was shut down. From what I've heard through whispers, some Casino tycoon named Mugshot took over the city and is denying entrance or leave until people spent a certain amont of time or money at one of his casinos. Guess Melissa and I where the last to catch that, as most of the town managed to flee before Mugshot legalized it."

Hearing that? Took Sly for a loop. The Casino scheme? Yeah that matched Mugshot. Taking over a city, however? He could dream, but the Muscle of the Fiendish Five had NO chance or even any CLUE to do that. Someone was helping him. But why?

"Now we're stuck here. Luckily, Melissa doesn't seem to realize. I-Island is sure to know, but supplies are starting to run low and I have no idea when a Pro will come."

David chugged back his mug before letting out a sigh.

"So, Sly? What brings you to Mesa City?" He asked.

"I have business with Mugshot." Sly admitted. "He helped kill my parents and stole a family heirloom. And also? Bust you and your daughter out of here."

To be continued…

Knightmare Lord A/N:

And now we've gotten to Episode 2: Sunset Snake Eyes, arguably one of the best levels in Sly 1. Let's see how Izuku and Sly handle Muggshot's tricks and traps.

Mrotrax A/N:

Hope you like it!

Yup, David and Melissa have shown up and the events of the first movie will (NO SPOILERS) play out very differently thanks to their involvement in this story.

And Sly is, for the first time, doing a somewhat heroic duty. That;s sure to shake things up, but not TOO much, I assure you. He will still stay our lovable rouge; this here is just a mix of family revenge and paying back someone nice to Izuku.

(At least, that's how he rationalizes it)

Stay safe until we meet again!