(This Death Battle is brought you by ElstienTheAbandonedKnight)
(For a full view of the Image Cover, look it up in Devianart; Z-PEDRAZA-KILLER)
Ed: Thieving. Steal something from someone else and make it yours. A greedy act, sure, but even the most selfish acts is for the best of others. Even if they don't know about it.
Demo: And these two are not just Masters at the Art of Stealing, but also the proof that their hearts are, somewhat, in the right place! Joker, the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts!
RUBY: And Sly Cooper, the Last Master Thief of the Cooper Family! I'm RUBY, and these are Ed and Demo!
Ed: And it is our job to answer an important question, which skillful Thief would come victorious out of a Death Battle!
Joker
Ed: Have you ever wonder, what would it feel to change someone's heart? Would you be doing a favor for someone? How about stopping a criminal before it acts? Would you be saving people? Well, for high-school student Ren Amamiya, it was something he will learn, whether he liked it or not.
Background:
-Name: Ren Amamiya (Anime), Akira Kurusu (Manga)
-Height: 5'9"
-Weight: Unknown
-Aliases: Joker, Trickster, The Phantom
-Leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts
-Harem Protagonist, Don't Deny it!
-A Good Dancer (Somehow)
-Super Smash Brothers Ultimate BOI!
RUBY: Ren was a normal student, most of his life was normal. That all changed when he tried to save a woman from being sexually harassed by a man. While he managed to stop it, that man happened to be a rising politician with good connections. He framed Ren with assault to the woman he saved and was arrested on the spot.
Demo: Politicians, tch! Never like them! Just because they have power, they can just fuck anyone's life! Look at the kid, dammit! Does he seriously look like a criminal?! Adults sometimes disappoint me.
Ed: Label a criminal, seen as one, and given the cold shoulder, Ren would have been in jail, but luckily, he was given the strict probation for one year. Moving to another school in Japan, he tried to leave that behind, but fate had other plans. While on his phone, he found a mysterious app called 'Metaverse'. Now, it may look suspicious, but this is not your everyday app.
RUBY: Turns out, this little device is the entrance to Mementos; an alternate reality based on the cognition of people's hearts and minds. Think of it as a place where a person's true colors are shown. Ren and his friend, Ryuji, accidentally entered this reality, finding out that their school was a castle for their Gym Teacher, who was the King of the place.
Demo: With the help of his friend, and a talking cat called Morgana. Akira escapes from that Hell, but he would soon return to it. This time, with a powerful weapon at his side; his Persona!
Arsene:
-Based on Arsene Lupin, Legendary Gentleman thief
-Fool Arcana
-Dark Magic Abilities
+Eiha
+Cleave
+Dream Needle
+Sukunda
+Adverse Resolve
-Resistant to Curse skills
-Weak to Ice and Bless skills
Ed: A Persona is a power within the human spirit itself, a Specter with inhuman power. It is the user's will 'personified'. Yes! You read that right. Jojo Bizarre Adventure isn't the only thing with a spirit origin name backstory.
RUBY: There are many ways to achieve a Persona, but in this case, Ren's summoning was because of his rebellious spirit against those who wronged him. In his case, the main Persona of Ren is Arsene; the Pillager of Twilight. This Persona specialized in Dark-theme attacks, such as his most common wave attack; Eiha. There is also Cleave, which can 'cleave' his opponent's down. Dream Needles causes sleepiness, Sukunda slows you down, and Adverse Resolve will hit you hard.
Demo: Yep! Arsene is a total badass! But Joker has more on his sleeves! You see, because his Persona represents the Fool Arcana, he has the Wild Card Ability! What those that do, you may ask? Well, not much, except it allows Ren to have MORE THAN ONE PERSONA!
Ed: Correct. The Fool represents beginnings and infinite possibilities. By strengthening his bonds with his friends or capturing other spirits, Ren can obtain and wield more than one Persona. By the endgame, he had over 200 Personas at his disposal! However, we won't waste time on that, so we'll only focus on the final forms of each Arcana represented by his teammates.
RUBY: So, only the Phantom Thieves? It seems reasonable to me, but is Akechi in it?
Demo: Can we please not talk about that bastard?
Ed: First of all, yes. Only the Tarot Cards that his friends represent. Second, I was debating whether we should or should not add Akechi, and after seeing Royal 5...We'll do it. But we won't be reviewing that game since I don't have it yet.
Personas:
-Futsunushi: Magician Arcana
-Cybele: Priestess Arcana
-Mother Harlot: Empress Arcana
-Odin: Emperor Arcana
-Ishtar: Lovers Arcana
-Chi You: Chariot Arcana
-Ongyo-Ki: Hermit Arcana
-Metatron: Justice Arcana
-Vishnu: The Fool Arcana
-Satanael: Ultimate Persona
Demo: If he wants power and durability, Futsunushi is the Persona to use! It can hit as hard and can tank any devastating attack. Along with boosting strength, speed evasion and halve damaged...at the cost of speed. Should he requires the use of magic, Cybele is the gal to call as it can summon healing and blessings skills, along with using high power magic and agility!
RUBY: Mother Harlot is the Persona to deal with Ice and Curses attacks. Along with deflecting dark and light attacks, summon curses and debugged enemies' strengths. Odin can use and reflect electricity, absorb wind and deflect light and darkness as well while boosting defense, magic, and healing rate. Ishtar also resistance to electricity, high magic power and heal/restore HP and ailments.
Ed: Chi You is all about physical and psychic attacks, as well immune to say attacks. Ongyo-Ki also is immune to physical attacks and can resist bless and curse attacks. Metatron is weak to electricity and darkness attacks but can repel wind attacks and nuclear attacks. Vishnu, capable of resisting the light and dark attacks, absorb ice attacks and reflect fire attacks.
Demo: Finally, there is the powerful Persona of the Trickster; Satanel!
RUBY: The most powerful Persona in Ren's collection. The form of a Fallen Angel turned the Ultimate Renegade. Nuking skills, unbreakable defense, and terrifying power. With this on his side, it guarantees Ren's victory without any trouble.
Demo: Of course he does! He has a frickin sized cannon gun that can shoot a bullet powered by the Seven Deadly Sins that can kill anything dub the Sinful Shell!... Isn't this a bit unfair, I mean he just needs to summon him and the fight is over.
Ed: Painfully aware of, but we should never underestimate both fighters. Now then, you may have noticed that these Personas are capable of resisting several immunities based on elements. With all this, Joker can resist any kind of attack based on the said attribute. But resistance is just the first ability, they also give can several attacks, boosts and healing abilities.
Persona's abilities:
-Fire
-Ice
-Wind
-Electricity
-Psychic
-Light
-Curse
-Nuclear
-Physical
-Skill Boosts (Amps)
-Healing Skills
RUBY: Many of the Personas grant attributes based on their main element. Like Fire, which grants Ren the moves Maragidyne and Blazing Hell, which turn his opponent's into torches. If he wants to freeze them, the ice abilities Mabufudyne, Ice Age and Diamond Dust are the best answer. If he wants to blow them away from his sight, Magarudyne and Vacuum Wave will do the job. Maziodybe, Thunder Reign and Wild Thunder will have them paralyze for any attack.
Ed: Should he want to attack from afar, his Psychic attacks are perfect; especially the Mapsiodyne, Psychic Force, and the Psychic Blast. Light attacks and Curse attacks aren't not behind with the Makougaon and the Maeigaon. If he wants to end things with a bang, the Nuclear attacks; Mafreidyne and Cosmic Flare will end everything in an instant.
Demo: Damn! I never want to go to a dungeon with him around! Especially when he has Amps to boots those individuals attacks! But should they ran out of power, they have no problem going face to face with their physical attacks; ones like Megaton Raid, Sword Dance, God's Hand, Brave Blade, Gigantomachia, Agneyastra, and Myriad Slashes! Not forgetting my favorite, the Megidolaon, one hit from this and you'll receive a beating harder than Brock Lesnar taking you to Suplex City!
Ed: But if the enemy is too tough, Ren needs to weaken their strengths, defenses and slow them down. Luckily, Debilitate is perfect for that. Lullaby send their enemies to Dream World, Makajamaon can make anyone forget what it was doing, Marin Karin brainwashes goes, Tentarafoo confuses, Abysmal Surge and Evil Smile causes fear, Mahamaon and Mamudoon instant kills and Die for Me nukes you down to death with Teddy bears…somehow.
RUBY: Where the fuck is the logic in that?
Ed: Either way! Should he be damaged in battle, he can restore his health with Mediarahan, cure status effects with Amrita Shower or Insta-Heal, or do both at once with Salvation. He can also boost his stats with Tarukaja, Sukukaja, Rakukaja, Thermopylae and boots his defense with Charge and Concentrate, and Firm Stance. To restore his strength and stamina, he uses Invigorate 3 and Regenerate 3. And finally, there is Enduring Soul; which nullifies, repels and absorbs attacks from all elements, revives himself from a fatal blow and restores his full strength.
Demo: Holy shit! I retract my statement of Cuphead! This guy has so much on his sleeve, he probably doesn't need to do anything at all! Luckily for us, the Phantom Thief is not cocky nor scared to let his Persona do the dirty job alone! That's right! We are NOT finished yet!
Powers, -Skills and +Arsenal:
-Third Eye
-Shadow Stealth
-High-Peak Strength
-High-Peak Speed
-High-Peak Agility
-High-Peak Durability
-High-Peak Intelligence
+Knife
+Handgun
+Smoke Bombs
+Elemental Bombs
+Hiroko's Armor
Ed: Ren prefers to not get involved in a fight, that's why he has an ability that allows him to blend into the shadows very well, the Shadow Stealth is a perfect invisible move, not even the Shadows themselves can see him even when they are next to him. Then, there's the Third Eye, an ability which allows Joker to see any hidden object, whenever they are objects, footprints or hidden passages.
Demo: Should he had no choice but to fight, he wields a Knife and Handguns. While these things are fake as the moon landing, in the Metaverse, all these weapons are 'real'. As long as both parties perceive it is real, it will be! The only downside is that his bullets are limited. He also has in store two types of bombs; Smoke Bombs, for blindness and quick escapes, and Elemental Bombs, different types!
RUBY: A Good thief always relies on their speed and agility, and thanks to Morgan's training and Ryuiji's exercises, Ren is without a doubt the second-fastest member of the group, capable of swinging his knife fast and out evade bullets. Speaking of that, he's not a simple hit and runner, he's strong enough to slash down several Shadows in just a couple of slashes and even durable enough to tank explosions to the face!
Ed: But his most important attribute is his mind, he can maintain a calculate expression and give out excellent plan attacks to end everything. He is the Leader of the Phantom Thieves for a reason.
Feats:
-Formed the Phantom Thieves of Heart
-Ripped his Persona Mask off his face
-Dodge light-galaxy lasers
-Evade and survive the Execurobo's Big Bang Challenge attack
-Successfully infiltrated 6 Palaces
-Survived Galaxy-level Explosion
-Outwitted Goro Akechi by faking his death
-Summon Satanael and Killed Yaldabaoth
-Defeated the Twins Wardens of the Velvet Room, Caroline, and Justine
Ed: Especially when he successfully guide his allies inside six different palaces and successfully stole the treasures of their arrogant and selfish victims. He had successfully changed the hearts of many corrupted people, especially the ones who deserved to die. He and the others were fast enough to escape the destruction of a Pyramid, which are 136 meters tall, and even survived a Big Bang level explosion to the face!
RUBY: The Big Bang Burger attack comes from a greedy fast-food CEO's ambition, which is a burger meal strong enough to annihilate entire star systems. To do something like that requires a force of something higher of 100,000 gigatons! Very impressive considering this happened in the Metaverse, where things you believe is real, it is. Not only that, but he can be faster than light as he dodges light-arrow attacks, putting him over one million MPH. If that's not enough, he was able to trick Akechi, the rising genius detective, into believing he was dead.
Demo: Let's not forget the time he managed to summon Satanel and one-shot Yaldabaoth to death. Who is that guy? Let's see...Right! The Holy Grail that could emerge the real world and the Metaverse together! As well as erasing people by making others forget them! Just like how he did with the Phantom Thieves at the beginning of the endgame!
Weakness:
-Still Human
-Each Persona has an individual weakness
-He can only use one Persona at the time
+It drains his health and magic
-Somewhat Daring
-Abilities only work in the Metaverse
Ed: A quick reminder that through his daring accomplishments and summoning God-like beings, Ren is still a human. A good bullet to the face or a simple piercing stab to the heart can still put him down. Not forgetting that using his Persona comes with several weaknesses, such as draining his health and magic the more power he uses, and using only one at the time, he needs an opportunity to switch his Persona from time to time. But his greatest and most unfortunate downfall is that 90% of his power can only be used in the Metaverse. In the real world, he's nothing but a mere mortal.
Demo: Meh! Who cares!? As long as he is in the Verse, everyone should fear and respect the Leader of the Phantom Thieves, because not even God could destroy him completely on Christmas Eve. The Wings of Rebellion are fully extended out of this one!
*Ren: "I am thou...Thou art I. You frauds who are in over your heads, allow me to show you. How you pale in comparison to us thieves! Come Forth! Arsene!"*
Sly Cooper
Ed: To become a Master Thief, you must follow one simple golden rule; only steal from other thieves. A very catchy slogan, one that an infamous Raccoon holds very close to his heart.
Background:
-Name: Sly Cooper
-Height: 5'4"
-Weight: 128 lbs
-Aliases: The Thief, Ringtail, The Ball…
-Leader of the Cooper Gang
-Last Member of the Cooper Family, a Clan of World Class Famous Thieves
-Team up with Ratchet & Clank and Jax & Daxter
-Playstation All-Star Battle Royal BOI!
RUBY: Sly Cooper belongs to a family of thieves. Stealing was in the family job line. His father was the last member and decided to take a break from the criminal life to, of course, raised his child in a healthy environment for a while before going and teach him the ways. However, one night, five notorious criminals invade the home and brutally murder the old raccoon, all while Young Sly witnessed while hidden away. He was only eight years old.
Demo: Shit! It is a surprise that he wasn't mentally scar. I mean, I remember when my drunk cousin killed a kitten because it was in the way in front of me...I still have nightmares!
Ed: Truly, a horrible way for a young child to know of the dark side of the world. But instead of breaking him, Sly became stronger, determined to find and defeat the ones responsible for his father's death. Alongside his two best friends, Murray the Hippo and Bentley the Turtle, they would search for these criminals and the book pages of the Thievius Raccoonus.
Demo: What's so special about a book? Well, it contains all of the Cooper clan's thieving techniques! And they had a lot of tricks on those pages! So yeah, Sly needed to get that back!
RUBY: Little by little, Sly and his friends successfully collect the pages, which help him recover the skills of his ancestors, and beat the ones responsible for making him an orphan.
Abilities and Skills:
-High-Peak Strength
-High-Peak Speed
-High-Peak Stamina
-High-Peak Agility
-High-Peak Durability
-Ninja Spire Jump
-Rolling Technique
-Knockout Dive
-Thief Reflexes
-Time Stop
-Mega Jump
-Shadow Power
-Stealth Slide
-Silent Obliteration
Ed: But to do that, he needed to be in top shape, which he is as he has a high level of strength, speed, stamina, and durability. He can parkour and scale through any obstacle in his way. One of his most used techniques is the Ninja Spire Jump, which allows Sly to land on anything surface; antennas, lightbulbs, saws, just to name a few. He also has the Knockout Dive, which he dives forward while twirling his weapon at his opponent, it causes a small shockwave when Sly hits the ground.
Demo: He has the Thief Reflexes, which makes everything around Sly either fast or slow, unfortunately, it includes him as well...Man, he has the power to stop time but still becomes part of the effect? Whose idea was that? Thankfully, he does have the Time Stop, which freezes his enemies and the world for a few seconds! Now that's useful! He also knows the Mega Jump, which is exactly what you think! He could compete with Mario in a jumping competition!
RUBY: Speaking of Mario, Sly can also use the Roll Technique, turning into a ball like Sonic the Hedgehog. He can roll so fast that a ball of electricity projects around him. He can also use the Shadow Power, which makes him invincible, as long his enemies don't realize it. Stealth Slide allows him to slide around anything, even lasers! And finally, he's trademark Cooper Kill, the Silent Obliteration! He trips his opponent's once and began to spin around them so fast, they slowly disappeared without a noise, silent and deadly.
Ed: Of course, half of these skills wouldn't be possible without this Raccoon's trusty weapon, the Cooper Cane.
Arsenal:
-Cooper Cane
+Voltage Attack
+Insanity Strike
+Stun
+Can separate into two canes
-Smoke Bombs
-Mine Hat Bombs
-Alarm Clocks
-Flash Bombs
-Rage Bombs
-Music Box
-Decoy
-Paraglider
-Binocucom
-Disguises
+Armor and Shield (Samurai Costume)
+Bow and Arrows (Archer Costume)
+Ball and Chain (Prisoner Costume)
+Hourglass Staff (Arabian Thief Costume)
+Sabertooth skin (Sabertooth Costume…)
Ed: This cane is not your everyday question mark-like staff. Not only is the Cooper Clan trademark weapon pass through generations, but is also a very durable weapon that Sly uses to attack and defend. It can generate electricity, create flashbangs, separate into two staffs, and even use a move called Insanity Strike, which when hit, the enemy will attack anyone around him without a care.
Demo: But the Cane isn't the only thing this Raccoon has to offer! He has a ton shit of bombs! Smoke Bombs to hide his presence, Alarm Clocks to distracted his victims, Flash Bombs to blind them on the spot, Rage Bombs to make them angry and confused, Mine Hats Bombs, which is when Sly drops his hat into the floor or on top of someone, and when it touches you, pray to everything! And the Music Box, which causes weak-minded enemies to fall asleep.
RUBY: Aside from bombs, he has the Binocucom, a high-tech binocular that can zoom in and out, take photos, blind enemies, and even x-ray around for objects to steal. He also has a Paraglider on his back, which is perfect to get away through the wind in high places. Speaking of getaway, he has quite the supplies of Decoy's to lure and trick his opponents.
Ed: Sly has also gained several disguises for himself, each one capable of doing several abilities. With the Samurai Costume, he's resistant to fire attacks and has a shield that can bounce back fireballs to where it came from. The Archer Costume makes him Robin Hood, an expert bow and arrow. The Ball and Chain costume are exactly what they sound, he has a big metal ball and he throws it forward and pulls it back with a chain. The Arabian Thief Costume grants him a staff which can slow time, way better and useful than his Thief Reflexes, and has a big sword capable of breaking gears into pieces. And lastly, the Sabertooth Costume, which helps him leap over feet in the air and attack from above, as a bonus, it can be a good dormant.
Demo: Damn! With all that stuff, he practically had everything to be a good thief, especially when he foils the plans of Clockwerk, the Cooper's overly jealous and hateful nemesis, and the rest of the Fiendish Five!
Ed: But that would not be his last adventure. After the defeat of Clockwerk, Sly discovered the secret of his immortality, a chip that contains his hate for the Thieving family. As long as the chip exists, so will the old owl, and when he was about to get it, all the parts were stolen and used for criminal activity by the Klaww Gang, a group of criminals who work for a bird who wanted to use Clockwerk to fly...because he couldn't.
Demo: I don't know what to say. But in my opinion, that was trump to the time he and the gang infiltrated the Cooper Vault, a cave filled with every single treasure all members of the Cooper family ever stole. And the time Sly and the gang went Time Traveling to save the Cooper lineage from a failed thief turn con-artists!
Feats:
-Regained all the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus and the Cooper Clan's treasure
-Smash and dent Clockwerk's metalhead
-Withstood the crushing of Dr. M mutated Monster for minutes
-Fast and skillful enough to steal from anyone
-Dodge Machine gun's bullets, thunderbolts, fireballs, rockets, magical and laser attacks
-K.O Mugshot in one hit
-Escape arrest from Carmelita Fox multiple times
-Survived a fall of high buildings and cliffs, and the crushing fall of Penelope's Giant Robot Knight
-Tank lighting bolts and Carmelita's Shock Pistol
-Defeated the Fiendish Five, the Klaww Gang, and Le Paradox's crew
Ed: Been a thief and a raccoon with the size of a real-life human, Sly has done and survived some pretty incredible things. He's strong enough to fight several thugs at once, take down anyone in just one swing and even crush metal in one staff swing.
RUBY: He's also fast enough to dodge machine gun bullets and lighting bolts, create a blur while running through tin rope, and even run so fast and silently, nobody knows he's there! His skills at stealing are next to none, he can steal right in front of you and you wouldn't even realize he stole from you after it is too late.
Demo: He has survived falling down buildings, tall enough to break a human leg bone, getting crushed by a giant knight robot and electrocuted! He even survived getting crushed by the hand of mutated animal Frankenstein!
Ed: Given the size of the monster compared to the tall cliff it was standing next to, (Cliff: 17.4 meters, Monster: Possibly 35 ft) along with Sly's height, the intent of crushing him to death, and been held tight while the creature was causing destruction, hard enough to break a large part of the island and cause small earthquakes while fighting Carmelita and her police force. This creature must have been doing all this with a possible strength of over 2.9 megatons! And Sly was fighting to not lose his breath on all this!
RUBY: Technically, he did pass out at the end. But still, he managed to withhold for several minutes and suffered a major concussion...He woke up in an hour and stood up for action.
Demo: I can see why H20 Delirious's main pet is the raccoon, with all this, it is a surprise he isn't superhuman!
Weakness:
-First a Thief, not a Fighter
-Can't swim
-Relies on Friends to pull him through several times
-Prefers a stealth approach rather than direct combat
-Has been captured and outsmarted before
Ed: He isn't, because he is a Master Thief, not a Master Fighter. He prefers to sneak around and steal rather than go straight and fight face to face, that's Murray's turf. Speaking of the Hippo, Sly relies a lot on his team, since there are things he can't do.
RUBY: Also, despite showing some quick actions, cunningness, and intelligence, he has been outsmarted and captured multiple times, requiring to be rescued by one of his allies. And just like Sonic, he can't swim in water...of all things to not be capable of, that's what he can't learn?
Demo: Game logic, nobody understands it. But I do understand one thing, this raccoon is a legendary thief that the Criminal world must keep in guard. It is gonna be a while for that though, consider that at the end of Sly 4 he was sent into the past via time travel, losing any way of communication with his friends...until Sly 5 comes out! Which is never gonna happen!
Ed: Even so, Sly Cooper has overcome impossible obstacles, and tremendous struggles to get where he is. He has truly earned the right to be called a Master Thief.
*Sly: "I don't know what's in my future...but I won't let it be a repeat of my past."*
Ed: All right! The combatants are set, and the arena is ready! Time to end this debate once and for all!
RUBY: I have analyzed all the data and come up with the final results. Initiating Battle!
Demo: Two thieves will enter, a Phantom of Hearts, and a Master Thief! Only one can truly steal the victory! Is time for a DEAAAAAAAAATH BAAAAAAAATLE!
Muggshot was annoyed and confused, why you asked? Well, in his hands was some sort of calling card. At first, he thought it was that Cooper scum going after him, but that thief steals first and goes away; he isn't that much of a showoff. Besides, his logo is a blue raccoon face, this was a red and black card with a top hat and a glowing eye as a logo. As well as the strange newspaper words that were placed on it.
"To Sir Muggshot! Your greed knows no bounds and your thirst for hurting others is inhuman. We have decided to put your desires into place and make you regret your malevolent ways. WE WILL TAKE YOUR HEART AWAY!"
From,
The Phantoms Thieves of Heart
"Huh?! Who the hell are the Phantom's Thieves?! And why the hell would they tried to steal my heart and not my money?!... Hmph! Probably some petty thief trying to make a name and try to take me down because that stupid raccoon and his mongrel friends did it already!" The giant bulldog grunt in anger. Still, they were pretty stupid in sending the calling card. "Heh! Do they think they can enter my home and steal from after telling me they are coming?" He'll show them, nobody looks down on 'Meat Head' Muggshot! "Guards! Be up and ready!" He shouted through his microphone, sending his voice all over his base of operation. "We'll get some sewers rat coming up! On your guards, dogs!"
With that, he went to his throne, sitting it like the Alpha he is. At that moment, his eyes glow yellow black, an evil smirk plastered around his furry lips. ('Come and get it, if you can!')
…
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…
That night, security around Mesa City, Muggshot base of operation, was pretty tight, guards were all over the place, lights were searching every corner, and the cameras were updated with everything.
Even with all that, nobody noticed a certain shadow jumping from building to building, evading the cameras and taking down unsuspecting guards when it had the chance. Said shadow jump in the air before landing on the pointy tip of an antenna, with a perfect view of the Hotel that Muggshot was staying in.
"Hey, Bentley. You didn't tell me that Muggshot raised his defenses." Spoke a male voice that belongs to the person on top of the antenna. The clouds covering the moon move away, and revealed the owner's appearances.
Turns out it wasn't a person, but a humanoid raccoon with gray fur with black stripes and brown eyes that were protected by a blue mask. He wears a blue elbow-sleeved shirt with a yellow collar, blue gloves, and boots, a blue cap-France style. Around his waist was a cartoon face belt of a raccoon and on his back was a red backpack. It was none other than Sly Cooper, Master Thief of the Cooper Clan. He was looking through the special made Binoculars made by his best friend.
"That's strange...I'm sure that we didn't grab any attention preparing for this heist." Bentley, the Brain of the group, spoke through the Binocucom. "Still, the plan is still the same. Your starting point is through the sewers. There should be a man cover that is connected to the Hotel building."
Sly look around the street, finding the man cover his friend was talking about. "Right. Locate the entrance...Let's just hope it is not too smelly down there."
"With your luck? You wish to take the route that has more security, including cameras and sensors?" Bently asked sarcastically, even though his tone was not amused.
"A tempted offer. But getting Muggshot arrested and steal his treasure quickly is my priority at the moment. I'll call you back when I get inside." With that said, Sly put away his Binocucom and jump off the antenna, and made his way to the man-cover, jumping down in it.
…
…
...
As he enters, another thief was also on the sewers, accompanied by his three friends. He was dressed in a hobo-like jacket with a hood, which covered the top of his head. "Ugh! Why did we have to take the sewers? Couldn't we just stand next to the building and enter Mementos from there?" Spoke a female voice behind Ren Amamiya, or Akira Kurusu if you wish.
"I agreed with Ann on this one." said a male voice that sounds very annoyed. "Morgana! Explanation!"
"I told you already, Ryuji! After sending the calling card, all the streets were covered with guards." said the last member of the team, which came from below Ren. "There will be no way for us to walk around without confrontation or getting caught! This is the only route we could have taken to get to this 'Muggshot' lair!"
"Gah! This is so frustrating!" Ann said as she stomps her shoe on the pavement. "Let's just get this guy and steal his treasure! He's stupid crimes are making the most amazing spots for a vacation no good!"
"Yeah! I just want to pummel his ugly mug!" The blonde delinquent exclaimed as he punched his fist on his hand.
"Good. Because we are here." Ren said to them as they had reached a marked wall with an 'X' on it. "We are down below the hotel, once inside, let's not waste time." Receiving a nod from his teammates, he proceeded to take out his cellphone and tap on the Metaverse App, entering the world of Shadows.
Little did they know, Sly Cooper was on the other side of the wall, and he was close to them. The moment Ren tap the app, Sly was also transported into Mementos.
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…
…
A panel down on the floor move. Been lift, it revealed Sly's face popping out of it, looking around. With the coast clear, and figuring out he was located in the basement. "Huh...That's strange." He asked this because last time he checked, the basement...was not made out of silver walls. "Muggshot using his money for remodeling is the last thing he would do," he mumbled to himself as he scale-out the hole. "Hey Bentley, are you sure I'm in the right building?"
*Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt*
"Are you serious?" Sly was taken by surprise by the sudden static of his earpiece. "Signal Interference? Come on people, that giant bulldog is rich but he wouldn't spend money on something like electronics devices." Sly tap his right ear a few times, but he was still hearing statics. "Guess I'll just go until I get the signal back." He closes the place he pops out and headed outside the room.
…
…
…
"Nyah! This guy is so greedy as hell!"
"His ego is bigger than Kamoshida! And that is saying something!"
"Would the two of you quiet down?! We are already in enemy territory!"
"Practice what you preach first!"
"I agreed with Lady Ann! Forgive my rudeness!"
Ren had to stare with a sweatdrop as his group discussion of almost three minutes. Once they entered the Palace, his clothes change to his Phantom Outfit. It consists of a black ankle-length tailcoat, a black and white, birdlike domino mask that protects his face, a high-necked waistcoat with gold accents, black pants, brown-black winkle pickers and a pair of red gloves. "Guys. Let us focus please." Joker said as he caught their attention.
"Joker is right. Let's start this Heist!" Morgana, dub Mona, said as he pointed at the doors. "There are three rooms with three different levels! Three of us need to pull each lever down to disable the security level of Muggshot Treasure Room and collect his treasure!"
"So, separate, pull down the lever and regroup back with Joker once he got the treasure?" Ryuuji, dress in his Skull thief outfit, summarize, "Sounds simple enough. But if we run into trouble with that meathead on the way?"
"No problem! Muggshot's shadow doesn't bother to check on the rooms with the levers! He relies on his guards to do the deed." Mona said.
"...I retracted the early statement of Kamoshida." Ryuji said as he could feel his left eye twitching.
"This guy is so full of himself, I just want to punch him. And I don't even know him!" Ann, dress in her Panther Thief outfit, facepalm. "Let's just go. Joker, we'll leave everything to you!" With that said, Panther, Skull, and Mona left.
"...Sure. Leave everything to me." Ren casually said without any remorse. Even though they didn't let him decide anything on it. Shaking his thoughts a bit, he left for the treasure room.
…
…
…
"...I have several questions." Sly Cooper asked himself as he was dashing through the halls, looking from corners and dodging any guard he found. "First, why the interior looks like a bank? Second, were these guards always that creepy-looking? And third, why did Muggshot look like Michael Jackson if he was huge and had muscles...while beating on what I think was a guy impersonating me?"
Of all the strangest things he had the pleasure of both fighting and witnessing, this might take the cake. And the fact that the outside suddenly looks like Las Vegas was another factor.
"Still, the fact that the place is not guarded on the inside is a bit suspicious, but I'll take what I can get." The raccoon said as he was heading down a corridor fast. On his sight, he found the door with Muggshot's treasure. "Ah! Now we are talking." He quickly enters inside, closing the entrance.
Right in front of him, was Muggshot's treasure. A large room with thousands of mountains of goods; gold, jewels, and bags of cash. However, in the center of all that was a pedestal, and in it, was the Briefcase he came here to collect.
"Yep. There is my prize...now how am I going to get it?" True to Sly's words and position, the room was protected with lasers. "If only Bentley could communicate with me, at least he can help me with an idea to turn this off." And just like before, the lasers suddenly turn off. "...Is today my lucky day or what?" He proceeded to grab the briefcase, which was glowing for some reason. "Now then, I better leave now before Muggshot finds out."
*Click*
"You can leave. But the briefcase stays."
Sly spine tingle as he quickly looks back, seeing Joker coming in, gun in hand.
"Uh...You are not going to buy that I might be one of the new guys, right?" Sly asked with sarcasm, ('What in the world is a human doing here? And how he got in this place?') He though.
"I would if it wasn't for the fact that you don't look scared by a gun pointed at you." the Phantom Thief said, eyeing the anthro creature. ('Did I pass a room with smoke that causes hallucinations, or am I seeing a real human-size raccoon? Is it a special type of shadow?')
"Well, shoot." Sly drop his shoulders in disappointment, "Look, buddy, I don't know what is your beef with good old Muggshot, but I need this-"
"So do I." Joker cut short whatever the raccoon was about to say, his glare intensifying. "So I suggest that you do this the easy way." The threat was serious.
But instead of being scared, Sly spine tingle a bit before a chuckle escaped his lips, "Easy? Sorry kid, but there's one thing you should know about me," he said before placing the briefcase on his back and twirled his cane in his hand before stabbing the hilt on the floor. "And is that I never take the easy way out."
"...So be it." That was Joker's last warning.
Time to Steal the Show!
FIGHT!
Joker's finger press the trigger of his gun, shooting three bullets. All which soared in the air and headed to Sly's...last position. That's right, Sly had already dodged the projectiles and had disappeared.
"Hey, buddy!" Joker's eyes look at the top of a mountain of gold, seeing Sly looking down at him while crouching on top and smiling cockily. "Is gonna take more than a gun to take this thief out!" He proceeds to jump off the pile of gold, causing it to tumble down. The Master Thief quickly grab into the chandelier, expertly swinging himself forward into the air before diving at Ren, ready to whack him over the head.
Joker acts quickly and jumps away as the cane hit the floor. He quickly took out his combat knife and lunged at Sly with a fast vertical slice attack, which was blocked by Sly's cane and jump back. Acting quick, Sly swipe his cane under Joker's feet, making him lose balance for a moment and almost tripping. Regaining his balance, Joker jump back from Sly's cane swing attack, before being forced to dodge several fencing-like attacks. He paired up one of the attacks with his knife and push it back, making an opportunity when Sly's guard was down. Joker thrust his weapon forward, intending to stab it in the heart.
However, it was all for naught as Cooper had a quick reaction to leaning backward matrix style. Taking the chance, Sly did a backflip, one of his feet hitting Joker's hand and sending his knife away from his grasp while the other managed to grace his face a bit, forcing them both to be away from each other. The raccoon thief jumped into the air and brought his cane forward, twirling it around before diving down in front of Joker. The Knockout Dive move connect with Ren and sent him away, rolling through the floor. The Phantom recovers from the attack, landing right next to his knife, which he quickly recovers.
Seeing incredible speed and amazing skills from his enemy, Joker put his hand on his mask, ('This is no ordinary shadow, it won't simply stand still and take a hit like the rest. I must take him seriously!') "Come, Arsene!" He proceeds to take off and throw his mask which began to disintegrate and right behind him, a flare of fire appeared. Once dispersed, a big creature show up; it had a very tall top hat, a long-horned mask for its face, a cropped red eighteenth-century esque suit worn open with the collar popped, stitched heart designs on the shoulders, a white ruffle tie, a black, tailed corset running down its torso; large, black, feathery wings starting at around the small of its back; very long and pointy fingernails; and red coverings on its legs resembling pants that would go with the cropped coat and heeled shoes with blade-like heels.
Sly was surprised by this, "What is that supposed to be?" Not the first time seeing a creature like that but it is the first time something that Dimitri would dress up.
Instead of answering, Joker raised his hand and aim, "Eiha!" The Pillager of Twilight rose its long-fingernails hands, summon a black-red fireball and throw it at Sly. The raccoon jumps out of the way from the fast attack as it collides with some of the gold towers, exploding in the process and dispersing the goods around.
"Woah!" The Master Thief and the Phantom Thief covered themselves from the golden rain.
Arsene quickly used his wings to protect his host while Sly quickly changes into his Samurai Costume, putting his shield up. As the gold rain began to calm down, Joker took the time to reload his gun and get his thoughts in order.
('Okay, he's fast and agile. He has a very sturdy cane. Is it made out of metal? If so, what kind? He had a backpack, which means he has more objects to use. I should take that away from him.') Joker thought as he prepared a smoke bomb to throw it at the thief. Arsene quickly opens his wings and allows Ren to see Sly...gone?!
True to his words, the raccoon had vanished out of sight. He looks up at the chandelier, he wasn't there. He looks behind him at the door, still close and nothing trying to open it. Narrowing his eyes, he deduced that the animal was still in the room.
How lucky for him.
Joker closes his eyes and began to concentrate, all around him except Arsene turns black. With that done, Ren's eyes open up, covered in blue light. In his view, the world was covered in darkness with highlights of blue around objects. With his third Eye now activated, he began to look on the ground, finding immediately what he wanted; a pair of footsteps moving...behind him?!
"Yoink!"
Deactivating his skill, Ren turned around and saw Sly's cane right on his face. If it wasn't for Arsene's quick block, he would have had a terrible concussion.
"Shoot, so close." The raccoon clicks his tongue. He was about to bounce back, but Arsene managed to grab ahold of his cane. Before he knew it, the Persona punch him in the face. He followed it with several slashes from his long nails before using his wings to smash them into the Master thief, sending him into the doors and through the doors. Cooper seems daze for a bit as he stood up before seeing Joker coming at him with...a man with purple skin, a golden helmet, white robe, and staff in hand following him? "What in the hell?!"
"Odin!" Ren moves his arm, "Maziodybe!" At his command, the Emperor Persona shoots a powerful electric attack.
Oh! I forgot to mention this, Muggshot Palace is a giant hotel with a hydrant on the top. Why did I tell you this? Because yellow lights illuminated through the windows and an explosion shook the entire building. Alerting Shadow Muggshot, his henchmen and the rest of the Phantom Thieves.
Back to the fight, the hall where both fighters were was almost broken. Cracks in both the walls and floor, sparks of lighting were everywhere. Joker walks through it, however, his feet reaching the grounded briefcase. Picking it up, he inspects that it didn't have any kind of trap or was a fake. He kept his eyes open, making sure that they weren't any other surprised like his opponent being alive, he doesn't see the body but he can't say that shadows stay for too long after been defeated. ('Still, that shadow was more colorful than the rest...is a new species of desire?') And it was holding the treasure like a guardian. He should inform this discovery to the others later. ('For now, I should take the briefcase back to the-')
Before he could even take a step, a bomb was thrown at his face and explode in a sudden burst of green and purple gas. Ren steps back while shielding his eyes and rubbing them with his hands, letting his grasp on his prize to left it and fall to the ground...it would have happened if a familiar cane had caught it before it touches the ground and yanked it away. After regaining his sight, Joker search around for the treasure, he found it...just as a familiar Thieving Raccoon was standing in a crouching position on the window frame. Sly looks at him with a cocky smile.
"Au revoir," Sly said in his France language before leaping off.
Joker dash to the window, looking at the animal diving in the air before a parachute came out from his backpack, starting to drift down to the top of one of the buildings close to the hotel. "...Dammit, I underestimated him." He quickly jumped on the window, summoning back Arsene. Before he went after the thief, the Phantom had taken one of his calling cards and wrote a quick resume of everything to the others before living it somewhere they would find it. "Sorry guys. But we haven't let a treasure stolen from our grasp, and I won't let it start now." And with that, he leaped off.
…
…
…
"...What is going on?" Sly had his eyes amazed through his Binocucom as he drifts through the sky. The city had turned into something else; big black buildings (literally) with white light coming from their windows. The streets look to be suffering from some sort of distortion, from the people to the lamps. And the sky was all red, and is not even dawn! "Okay! I have no idea where I am, but I am not in Mesa City anymore!"
The moment he finished those sentences, something went past right behind him. He panics as he almost lost his focus in gliding as well that more things were barely passing by him. He turns his head back as his special viewing device shows him the human thief on his tail, jumping from roof to roof with his spirit thing right behind him as it shoots a barrage of needles at him.
Joker knew that he wouldn't be able to keep up with Sly's flight escape, so he commanded Arsene to used Dream Needle, waiting for one of them to hit his target. And it did, as one of the needles hit the parachute, ripping into pieces. Poor Cooper was now floating in the air for a few seconds before gravity did its job. However, if the Phantom Thief was expecting the Master Thief to pummeled down to the ground, it had another thing coming. Sly used his cane to grab and hang on a cable and skillfully slide himself to the top of the roof. "Fweeh~ That was close." Sly let a sigh of relief out.
However, that relief stop when he saw Joker already caught up with him, descending from the air with a new Persona; a human-like being with yellow skin, blue tunic covering only his legs, and four arms; each one holding an object. Vishnu of the Fool Arcana had appeared. "Vacuum Wave!" The Persona threw a powerful air attack at the raccoon, who received the attack head-on. Joker follows it up by making his persona to used Maragidyne, sending a strong fireball forward.
Sly crash against a chimney, breaking it in the process. He groaned in pain as he stood up, and saw incoming fireballs. Thinking fast, he changes into his Samurai costume and charged his shield. The moment the fire was close to him, he slams the shield on it. The force of the fire-proof shield sent the fireball back to where it came from. Joker, taken a bit by surprise, quickly change his Persona; summoning a beautiful female blue-skin humanoid with demon horns that were worn only bandages around its body. "Cybele!" The Priestess Arcana Persona stood in front of the ball of fire, hitting her. The fire disperses away, and the Persona stood there without a scratch.
"Just what the hell are those things, and how it's without a scratch?" Sly was so surprised, he had seen four ghosts coming out of that boy's body. "It's so unfair, I'm getting tag team alone!"
*Bang!*Bang!*Bang!*
The Master Thief's eyes widened in fear, several gunshots had managed to reach him, hitting Samurai armor and leaving holes on both armor plate and shield. "Y-You! How could you!" Tears suddenly began to drop from Sly's mask as he stares at the broken pieces that fell off. "This armor is from the Samurai Era in the 12th century! It cost at least two million yens!"
"...If it that valuable, why are you wearing it?" Joker asked with a droplet in his head. Strangely enough, his Persona also had a droplet on its head.
*Few!*
Joker's eyes widened as his reflexes kick in, dodging an arrow that was aimed at his head. His focus was back on the raccoon, who somehow was now wearing a Robin Hood outfit? "How in the world can this guy change so fast?" He asked, but he didn't have time to think more as Sly began to shoot more arrows at a fast rate. The Phantom Thief quickly began to dodge the arrows, his Persona blocking the few that almost hit him. He took one of his Elemental Bombs and light it up, and in one of his opportunities, roll it through the floor and reaching the blue boots of the Master Thief.
Sly saw it too late as the bomb exploded in an electrical outburst, he screams in pain as the electricity courses through his body and paralyzed him for a few moments. Taking those moments into his hand, Joker was already in front of him and began to slash him away; each strike leaving a gash of pain in Cooper. "Mother Harlot!" The Trickster changes his Persona once again, a seven-headed scarlet dog with a woman on top appeared. Joker kicks Sly away as the Empress Arcana stood in front of him, "Ice Age!" A cold wind began to surround the Persona before a devastating ice attack slams into the raccoon. The last member of the Cooper Clan was sent smashing into a wall of another building before falling into an alleyway, the briefcase leaving his personal and landing in an unknown area.
The landing was rough for Sly's taste. Not the first time having been a situation but the most painful one. He struggles to stand up with his cane, his strength coming around little by little, but that was stopped when a black-leg kick his family heirloom away from his grasp, followed by being pressed down by the same foot on his chest. Sly heard a clicking sound of a gun, he looks up to see Ren aiming his weapon at his face.
"Tch! If you wanted to be closer to me, you could just have asked." Even though with all the pain and the disadvantage he was in, Sly had found a way to make a joke out of it.
Joker narrowed his eyes, "Trust me, this is as close as I wanted to be with you." Did he just humor his opponent's ego? Does anyone feel like we just broke his character?
"Heh...Guess your right," Sly smirk at him, making the Trickster to tense up, "So let me commemorate this occasion," Faster than he knew, Sly had taken his Binocucom and aim it at Joker's face, "Say Cheese!" The camera installed in the device flash, blinding Joker and losing his vision for a moment, which Sly took as he pushes the feet pinning him down and collected his Cooper Cane before using his Shadow Power and disappear through the 'shadows' of the alley. No pun intended.
Shaking the flash of his eyes, Joker couldn't help let a growl out from his lips. To think he would be trick a second time so easily...it was frustrating and out of character for him to be this pushy and careless. Then again, he would be lying that this kind of 'fights' is making him a bit exciting. With his heists and teaming up with his team, not that he was bothered by it, the opportunity to fight alone does not always come around. However, his opponent was unlike any other shadow before; faster, skillful and craftier.
A Perfect Challenge.
He activates his Third Eye once again, the world turning black and blue as he found once again a set of footsteps heading deeper in the alley. He reloads his gun once again and began to sprint forward, his mind already planting a trap. For a few seconds, he reaches the end of the footsteps, an open dump area. It was spacious and had a few mountains of trash, dumpsters, and even cars. The trail went cold as the feet of the raccoon disappear, Joker knew that he was coming up to a trap. Turning off his Third Eye, he slowly began to make his way around the place, getting cautious about his surroundings. He cannot underestimate this raccoon for even a second.
From the shadows of the night, a pair of white eyes were staring at Joker. Those eyes began to move from the darkness, making Joker conscious that there was someone nearby. The shadow began to dash from the shadows in different ways, but even with all that, the Phantom Thief was calm as a cucumber. He knew that there was something in the shadows, looking at her with an intense glare. Ren felt something making a bit of movement on his sight, something going inside one of the dumpsters. Acting quickly he aimed his gun at the object and shot a bullet in it. The impact made the dumpster fall, only for trash to fall.
He realized that he just took the bait of a trap. Why? Because right behind him, from the shadows came Sly Cooper, his cane emitting electricity. The cane struck Ren's head...or so you would believe but the highschool student had managed to take out his knife and block the cane, sparks of metal and electricity clashing out.
"Surprised? I wanted our date to be electrifying." Sly said as he pushes the knife back while a pellet was in his hand.
"Then I hope to satisfy you, I'm good at having a good time on my dates," Joker replied as his hand went for a pellet as well.
It would appear that both thieves were thinking the same thing. They both jump back and threw their respective pellets down, releasing the smoke inside. The sounds of weapons clashing together along with the shadow of both combatants showing from time to time. This stop when Joker...got smashed hard with a giant metal ball. The force sent the Trickster into the pile of trash, he recovered quickly and saw that Sly was coming at him while rolling on top of the chain ball and dressed in a prison outfit. Joker jumps out of the way as the giant metal ball rolled and crashed with the trash, sending them flying like bowling pins. Joker flips up on his feet as Sly made a fast 180-degree turn and headed back.
Ren quickly snaps his fingers as he summons another persona, "Metraton!" The being that was summoned was a metallic angel dress in a greek white outfit. The Justice Arcana place his hands forward and stop the rolling ball. The collision made Sly lose his focus, and almost his balanced. An opportunity that it was taken, "Megidolaon!" From the palm of the Persona's hand came a light and an explosion followed next, destroying the ball and sending the Master Thief soaring in the air before landing on the ground.
It would be a great opportunity for Joker to finish things up, but his body suddenly felt weak and he fell to one knee. ('Haa...Haa...I have been using too much power…') Ha! Another out of character moment. He used one of his healing abilities to recover his strength and stamina.
As he did that, Sly finally stood up, his body feeling sour. ('This is taking too long, I need to finish this now and get back to Bentley and Murray. But I seriously need to know where am I?') He said as he stood up and looked at the human thief, ('And I feel that this guy knows something...I just hope I can play this right-') Whatever Sly wanted to think was cut short when he did a small step and his feet hit something. Looking back, he saw Muggshot's Briefcase next to him. "Huh...I was wondering where were you." He picks it up once again, and place it on his back once again.
Having both recollect their thoughts, Sly acted faster as he used his Mega Jump move to make his way to the top of a building wall. He hooks his cane on one of the tiny holes before jumping up to another hole.
Joker saw the ringtail creature scaling to the top with his objective in his back. He swaps Metraton with Arsene. The Phantom proceeds to throw his grappling hook into a wall and pulled himself on it, just as he was about to reach it, Arsene grabs him and, with his wings, flew upward at super speed.
Sly kept hooking his cane from place to place until he heard something heading his way. He didn't have time to even look back as Joker and his Persona slam into him, all three flying high into the sky. They almost broke the sound barrier, keyword been almost. Reaching the top of the building roof and above in the sky, Joker push Sly off him before Arsene brought his wings and arms to smash them on the Master Thief. The force sent Sly into the roof, almost cracking both the concrete and his spine. "Alright...I felt that love tap."
As Sly began to stand up, Joker landed safely on the floor and aimed his gun while Arsene rose his left palm, "This was fun while it lasts, but it is time to end this." His finger pulled the trigger. Sly look up as the bullet was inches away from him, meaning he couldn't do anything as it smashed into his chest, making him groan in pain. "Riot Gun!" Follow up by a rain of thunder hitting him from above, creating another explosion and thick dust. Mugghsot's treasure found itself flying in the air and landing in front of Ren's feet. The smoke clears up to reveal the raccoon down, unmoving.
A sigh of relief and tiredness cover came to Ren as he grabs the briefcase. "I have taken to much time playing around, the other must be worried about me." He looks at the fallen form of Sly, still in place. "You were different from the rest of the shadows I have fought before. You felt like you had a good heart, although a bit mischievous and daring…"
"Thanks, I get that a lot." Ren's eyes widened in surprise as he looks behind him. There was Sly, resting against the walk side. He quickly looks at where 'the body' was supposed to be, only for it to go infall off in pieces like a piece of paper. Seeing that it was a decoy, Joker immediately jumps back, his gun out and aimed at Sly.
"How did you survived?" Joker asked as stood cautions. This is the third time he was trick.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" The Ringtail Thief said with a chuckle as he twirls his cane. "By the way, I can see you like my hat. You can have it."
Those words confused Ren for a moment until he noticed something blue next to his feet. Looking down, he saw the thief hat that the Raccoon wears...along with a red-light underneath-Oh Shit!
Boom!
The bomb exploded and it consumed the Phantom Thief and his Persona. Once again, the briefcase was sent flying from the explosion and into Sly's hand. He tunes the mood as he whistles a bit before turning around, "Thanks for returning this back. And have a good night!" With that, the Master Thief jump into a nearby rail and began to slide in it.
He never got the chance to see several chains coming out of nowhere...or the glowing mask-like form that appeared, or the hand that burst through the dust and grabbed said chain.
As he was in mid slide, Sly was taken by surprise when the entire world around him began to shake, like an earthquake rumbling through the streets. In a moment of panic, Sly look back to see if he could figure out just what the hell was it causing that commotion.
How he would have wished he didn't.
From the buildings, which were beginning to crumble down by the lack of space, was appearing a creature that dwarfs his height over leagues. It sported a massive pair of wicked wings, and its massive, armored frame intimidated any normal man. On the top of its head was a menacing horned helm, one that failed to hide the vile and authoritarian mien of the new figure.
This was the Ultimate Persona of the Fool Arcana, the Angel who dare to rebel against God; Satanel!
Sly could feel his mouth separating from each other, even though he had to focus on his sliding. He then noticed not too far away from neither him nor the Titan was Joker, his face unmasked and exporting a serious, yet calm, expression in his face. ('How in the world did he survive an explosion like that?!') That was a pretty scary thought.
Ren himself was staring down at his opponent who was moving away from him. He once again extends his hand forward at the far away Sly. This motion was followed by the Ultimate Persona as it's giant hand aimed-
*BOOOOOOOM!*
Sly didn't see it coming, or rather, there was no way for him to see it coming or dodge it. He didn't even know what the hell happened, just that an explosion close enough to a nuke appeared. His consciousness left him by the sound of the explosion and the force that knock him out as his body crash through the streets. When his consciousness began to return to him, he was laying down on the floor, his body aching in pain, so much that standing might be difficult. He looks at his right side, seeing his cane on his grip. He looks at the left, seeing the briefcase he has been protecting all this time inches away from his finger. He positions his face forward, seeing Satanael still there. His ears perk at the sound of footsteps coming close to him.
Somehow, Joker had managed to reach the streets and stood a good portion away from the Master Thief. He views as the animal in clothes began to stand up, or at least, what he believes was standing up as he was now sitting down. "I must congratulate you. You're the second being that had caused me trouble in taking down." Amamiya began to wipe his gun out, Satanael imitated this action by taking out his massive cannon-gun. They both aimed at the now kneel ly who was supporting himself with his cane. "But this end now...So I ask you one last time; drop the briefcase and you can leave with your life." A treat the Phantom just sent.
The answer from the Master Thief was a hurtful smile. "No dice, kid...Nobody in my family has given up stealing a treasure before. So do what you must do to steal it back...that's the Honor Among Thieves."
Joker stood there for a few moments, seeing the hurtful mood of his opponent yet his resolution to stand up in the face of death. It was quite strange but he has found some honest respect in this sha… In this thief's determination and passion. "Then...Begone." Ren pulled the trigger, and so did Satanael.
From the Persona's gun emerged an absolute massive bullet with a loud bang. The Sinful Shell has been fired and was now heading to its destination; Sly Cooper.
The Master Thief simply let a smile out, as he did not do any attempt to dodge it. ('Not bad, kiddo. Not bad at all.') The attack reaches him.
…
…
…
The world went white just for a few moments, all of Memento felt a powerful tremor. The view return to the screen, as Joker and Satanael put down their guns down as they stare at where Sly once was.
Nothing was left from the Master Thief, only small flecks of light that floated in the air before they disappear. This was the Phantom Thief's victory...yet at the same time, he didn't feel like a winner. He clenched his gloved fist as Satanael disappeared, its job done.
He had done some questionable things before, but this time, it felt like he was against this kind of choice. But what's done is done, so he proceeds to do a courteous bow to him. Now he needs to get the briefcase and return to his team. Just where is it?
As if the universe was reading his thoughts, the treasure he needs it appeared right in his face...Wait a minute, how did it even come to his-
*Sweep!*
Suddenly, a yellow hook grabs him by his throat and yanked him back. Joker was pulled down to the floor and felt something press against his arm, making him released his gun. It was so sudden what happened, but his eyes widened at what was pinning him down. "You gotta be kidding me."
It was none other than Sly Cooper, alive and smiling down at him. "Oh, but is true my friend."
"But how did you survived?" Joker asked as he tried to reach for his knife. Only to not be able to find it anywhere.
"Looking for this?" The Phantom Thief looks at the Master Thief's hand, which was holding his knife. "I don't believe you're going to need it." Sly threw it away, "As for your question; let's just say that 'time' was on my side." He proceeds to raise his cane, holding it like a mallet, "Now, say good night."
"ARSENE!" The Master Thief didn't have time to react as the Persona's hand shot forward and grabbed him by the throat. As the Ringtail criminal tried to get himself out, Ren had the opportunity to recover himself, quickly claiming back his gun and aim it at Sly one last time. "You should have given up and take the loss."
"Ghk! You're right…" Sly said through his struggle to breathe, but his smile was still present. And with his free hand, he took something out of his pocket, showing it to Joker. "That's why I need to know what's so important about this." The Phantom Thief's eyes tensed.
Let us rewind a bit as I show you a different P.O.V.
(Flashback to a few minutes ago)
"Then...Begone." Ren said.
*Tick*
But before he could pull the trigger, he and Satanael were freeze. Sly, however, was moving like normal, which is to be expected since he had used the Stun ability. Catching his breath quickly, he dropped a decoy in his spot before and used his Shadow Power once again. He quickly made his way out of the trajectory of the gun. A few seconds later, time resume and Satanael fired his super attack and the result made him glad he had his Time Stop ability.
"Damn...That thing is dangerous." Sly mumbled out as he had reached Joker. He stood behind him and began to pickpocket his things out; bombs and knife. "There we go...now then," he then pickpockets an object he found interesting with his Binocucom, ('What do we have here.')
One thing a Master Thief knows, anything he steals is valuable for him.
(End of Flashback)
Sure enough, the object that Sly was holding was Ren's phone, and his gloved finger was right above the Mementos App.
The Phantom quickly place a hand around his pocket, not finding his device anywhere on his personal. Which means that this one is his! But how?! "As I said...time was on my side," He heard the raccoon said before seeing his finger head down.
"NO!"
It was too late. Sly had tapped the Mementos App.
In an instant, the world around them began to change, distortions of abnormally swallow the city and both thief in an empty void of darkness.
Soon, Sly was dropped to the ground as Arsene disappeared in a blink. The black building turns into normal streets and the sky's stars were there once again. The Master Thief blink in surprise at the sudden change, "Huh?" Sly had to ask himself as he tried to comprehend what the hell just happened. He looks at Ren, who had changed from his Phantom costume to his regular outfit. "...Well, you change clothes fast."
Ren stares in absolute shock, he looks at his hands. He was back to reality! Glaring forward, Ren needs to get his phone back. He made a mad dash at the raccoon's hand.
However, Sly saw it coming and move away as the hand grazed the phone by mere inches. Still, the Phantom wasn't done as he recovered and sent a quick punch at Sly's stomach. But the raccoon was fast as he activates his Thief Reflexes and dodges it. Been in control of his ability, Sly quickly slams his can on Ren's face, returning time to normal and making the human recoiled in pain. Sly then began to swing his cane forward and forcing Ren to block his face with his arms. The Phantom Thief was on the defense as he continues to block and dodge all of Sly's attack until he saw an opportunity. In one of the swings, he dodges to the side, grabs the Cooper cane and pulls it. Sly was brought up close and allow Ren to slam a palm strike on his face. Taking the off guard moment, Ren disarms his Cane and throw it away, he then grabs Sly through the collar and slams him down on the ground. Joker jumps on top of him and began to pummel him down with punches, to the point that Sly almost had a black eye and blood was pouring out. The damage made Sly let his grip on the phone to leave and slide off him. Something that Joker noticed which stop his spread of punches for a moment.
But before he could pick it, Sly managed to take a flash bomb out and smash it into Ren's face. The sudden light caused Ren to cover his eyes in pain by it. The Master Thief buckle him off, rolling back away. He groans in pain as he began to recollect his thoughts.
At the moment he did manage to get his breath back, Ren had recovered from the flashbang. Both Thief stares at each other before their eyes landed on a specific; the phone.
('I need to get it back!') Ren thought.
('I can't let him get it back!') Sly thought.
In a beat of time, they both dash forward, going head to head as they began to reach the phone. Ren and Sly began to get closer, and closer. Their hands stretched forward as their objective was right on their fingertips reached.
…
…
...
Suddenly, from Sly's hand appeared a staff with a glowing red sand clock-like artifact. And Joker's movement was slow down. The anthropomorphic thief was dressed in a thief outfit that belongs to a dessert thief. He picks something from behind his back and holds it to the side, it was a big and long Scimitar sword.
Once pulled back, he swung forward at full speed.
Sling!
Even though time returned to normal, it felt like it went very slow in the air. Not too soon, a gush of blood burst out of Joker's mouth as a large cut had gone through his left arm and body. He fell to the floor in pain as a puddle of blood began to form under his body.
He looks to the side to see his Phone inches away from him, just by inches! He could reach it with his right hand!
Unfortunately, another hand swipe down and pick it up. Ren could only look up to see Sly twirling the device on his hand while a weak smile made his way on his face before turning around and went to the direction of his cane. Suddenly, the Trickster's view was black...with a beeping sound and a red light.
He knew that sound very well. ('Ryuji...Morgana...Ann...Yusuke...Makoto...Futaba...Haru...I'm sorry.')
BOOOOM!
An explosion bursts out from behind Sly, who didn't look back as he grabs his family heirloom.
"SLY! Come in! SLY! Do you read me?! The sudden outburst called from Bentley made the Master Thief cringe in pain.
"Yeah...I read you. Loud and very loud." Sly joked out.
"Oh thank God! I lost communication with you for too long!" The turtle concerned was welcomed by Sly. "W-What happened?! Where were you?! Are you okay?!"
"Eh...I would say peachy, but the black eye is saying otherwise." Sly respond to him as he grabs Muggshot's briefcase while holding his right eye. "Anyway, I have three things for you; Ugly's Briefcase, an interdimensional phone, and a long story."
"...Sly, were you transported to another dimension again?"
"I said is a long story."
K.O!
Demo: EX-FUCKING-SCUSE ME?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN SLY WON!? JOKER HAD THAT ONE IN THE BAG!
Ed: Calm down, Demo...and other readers. This fight was quite a shocking one. Both Joker and Sly were experts thief and were capable of extraordinary and unbelievable feats you wouldn't expect from a thief. Their speed, cunningness, and daring acts could keep with one another.
Demo: Get to the point already! Joker was the strongest of the two, and more durable! Sly may have fought Clockwerk and survived attacks like explosions and lighting, but they pale in comparison with beings that can destroy star-systems and rewrite the universe! And their speed and cunningness were even?! Sure, Sly could dodge instant gunshots and lasers, but Joker can dodge galaxy spamming explosions! Not to forget that Joker could figure out Sly's sneaky weapons and abilities given his quick thinking in battle! Also, how many times has Joker been captured before? One time! How many for Sly? Several!
RUBY: Almost true. Joker had the power, durability, and intelligence on his side. However, Sly is not that far behind. Joker had the power with Arsene and the rest of his Persona's on his side, but Cooper was the physical prowess of the two, capable of smashing metal in a few swings. And while he could figure out and counter Sly's special abilities, the same could be said about Sly, while he is not as smart as his friend Bentley, he can trick and fool his opponents into his hands. But Joker is very cunning as well, also planning to lure his opponents into his hands and figuring out Sly's hit and run tactics. They both were smart enough to compete with one another.
Demo: ...Okay, I see the point on that, BUT! Joker is still durable than Sly, he can survive anything the raccoon throws at him and stand up! Sly's arsenal is much wider than one handgun and a knife, but most of them can be counter by Joker's team of Arcana!
Ed: No argument there. It wouldn't be hard for Ren to figure out that Sly can only use physical damage. He just needs to counter it with a Persona that nullifies pain. And even if Sly could land a devastating blow, Joker could just heal himself back to shape. But that doesn't mean Ren had that win; Sly's mobility made it a bit too hard for the Phantom to land a precise hit. Even someone like Sly knows that he shouldn't stay still in one place in a heist. That's Survival rule 101.
RUBY: Another important factor to not forget is their stealth abilities. Between the two of them, Sly is the one who acts quickly in hiding. Giving zero chance for Joker to sneak up on him and give him a deadly blow, even if he did, Sly could just turn invisible. And before you all strike with the Third Eye, keep in mind that it only helps Ren find things like footsteps, not invisible people. Not like Joker had plenty of options in that department as Sly has experience in getting the drop on several times. That's another point; Sly has fought spiritual beings like a Persona before, beings that can throw elemental attacks and even giants that want to kill him. Not only that, but Sly had the experience of an entire bloodline of thieves which were different jobs; ninjas, pirates, thieves, mechanics, knights, outlaws, heavy lifters, gentlemen and many more.
Ed: Think about it, is a thief with knowledge and experience of stealing for over a year against a thief who has a legacy of thieves for hundreds of years.
Demo: I guess...But experiences doesn't always triumph over raw power! And Satanael was the coup' de grace! There was no way that Sly could stop something that is practically a God!
RUBY: Of course. Sly was fucked when Satanel came out. But here is the thing; Sly CAN dodge anything thrown at him; he had three ways to do so and they all circle around the same subject; time.
Ed; Out of the three manipulation time power, Sly's Stun ability freezes opponents for a few seconds, giving him time to plan and act. But my friend is right about Joker having this in the bag; with his durability, ways of healing and Persona's at his side, Joker could win 60 or 70 percent of the time. But we are not here to know who could win, but rather who would win. Which brings us to the important question on this battle; Could Sly figure out he was in Mementos?
Demo: Wait...He can?!
RUBY: Absolutely! The answer lies in one of his gadgets; the Binocucom. As stated before, the special device can x-ray Sly's victims for any goods it may have. True, Cooper wouldn't be able to figure out the Mementos App connection right away, but if his thief training has taught him anything valuable is that anything he steals is something good.
Ed: Which brings us to another factor of Sly, his pickpocketing skills. He has been able to steal from guards to intellectual criminals without one single trouble, even while been held down. While Joker had never stolen something from someone's pocket.
Demo: That...Is true.
Ed: Calm down already?
Demo: Yeah, I guess I can see it. The fight wasn't about who can land the first blow, rather who can figure out each other's skills first. As well as how to exploit them. Sure, Joker can exploit them faster, but that damn raccoon either won't stay still or had a way to getaway. Even if he was hit by one of Joker's weaken abilities, Sly could just keep going as he had been in that kind of state before.
RUBY: Overall, once Sly discovered that he was in another place, he could take Ren's Rebellious power out of the way but it didn't mean he was winning. Joker still has several of his skills on his personal, but without Arsene or his Personas at his side, he was only delaying the inevitable. Even with a fake gun and knives.
Ed: In the end, both thieves were incredible Masters of the Art of Stealing, but only one of them had the skills, the experience, and the arsenal of a Master Thief.
Demo: Well, Joke on the Phantom Thief, Cooper did had a Sly chance for victory.
RUBY: The winner is Sly Cooper.
Next time on Death Battle!
A black ooze began to fall from a building, some of it landing on the hand of a man, said guy tried to get it off but it couldn't, even worse when more of the ooze began to land on him, swallowing him up inside. Once the process of emerging is completed, it took the form of a huge, muscle-bound monster, filled with ooze and teeth. He roars forward and covers the camera with darkness.
V.S
The walls of an old studio were beginning to turn black, all of sudden, a black-covered leg stomp forward and past by. The camera slowly began to rise from the back, showing a giant ooze monster walking forward before it stops as the camera reaches the back of its head. It quickly turns around to reveal its face; which only had horns and a permanent grin. He let a powerful screech out before swinging its hand at the camera, blacking it out.
