*SLY POV*
We were on our way to the Krakarov Volcano in Russia. While looking over what little information I had on the final member of the Fiendish Five, I noticed something. In the four parts of the Thievius Raccoonus recovered so far, several of the pictures depict a shadowy owl-like figure, which looks very similar to the police images of the mysterious Clockwerk as well as what Panda King told me.
Is this a strange coincidence or is there something I'm missing?
COOPER
When the Cooper Gang reached the road up to Clockwerk's Fortress, Sly uncharacteristically insisted on taking the roof-mounted guns to clear the path for the van, shooting out locked doors, mines, and incoming projectiles alike.
Once they passed the mines, an owl-shaped tower became visible in the distance. Everyone instantly knew Clockwerk would be there, and no one bothered saying anything. Sly focused the weapons fire on the robot falcons that dove in to attack, along with falling rocks when it was revealed that the eyes of the tower contained a death ray that was being used to attempt to crush them in a rockslide.
As they finally reached the end of the path, it was apparent that Clockwerk was well prepared...and above all else, competent.
In the next area, they came across yet another obstacle they needed to deal with before they could even get out of the van. 120 computers hung from the ceiling of the large cavern they entered, and they needed to destroy sixty of them for Bentley to collect enough data to unlock the far door. At the same time, fire slugs, creatures seemingly composed of living magma, attempted to consume the computers before they could crush them and collect the data.
Fortunately, Murray's driving skills were par none and he was able to outspeed the beasts and collect all the computers for Bentley to download the necessary data, allowing them to pass through the security gate with ease.
As they passed, they entered the control center for the tower death ray. A long path almost covered in deadly spotlights and booby-trapped with dart guns led up to a glass chamber...where Carmelita was trapped.
"Mommy!" Izuku cried out in fear. Sly's eyes narrowed angrily.
"Izuku, stick close to me."
Neither noticed what Izuku had called the Interpol agent; all that mattered was saving her…even if this was most likely a trap.
Despite Izuku's still-present fears from the nightmarish visions he saw back in China, he nodded firmly and hung onto Sly's back as they quickly tracked a path.
The very security systems guarding the path provided Sly with the path to get to a barrel that would protect the pair of them from the darts, allowing them to make it to the chamber where the capsule Carmelita was trapped in was contained. As soon as they stepped inside, however, a glass wall slammed shut behind them, and green gas began pouring in.
A dark malicious laughter echoed out as the computers showed a pair of glowing golden eyes.
"You sentimental fool! Empathy has always been the downfall of the Cooper Clan."The voice of Clockwerk said, a cultured voice marred by cold fury and pure hate."If you were willing to leave this woman to her fate, you would have stood a chance against me."
However, the monstrous bird of prey was surprised, if only for a moment, when Izuku held his hands out and created some kind of magic barrier protecting him and Sly from the gas. Clockwerk narrowed his eyes, recognizing that as Mz. Ruby's voodoo magic.
"Probably...should have read this page of the book...more carefully..." Izuku whimpered as he struggled to hold it. "Bentley...Murray...hurry..."
"You Coopers always have had the devil's luck..."Clockwerk snarled."And it seems Inko Midoriya's child survived..."
Izuku's pupils dilated in terror as he could feel the cold hateful words directed at him. Just before he could lose concentration on the shield spell, the gas vents shut down, courtesy of Bentley's hacking prowess.
"Get going, guys!"The Turtle Beastkin shouted through the Binoc-U-Coms."Take this guy down hard!"
Clockwerk snarled as his screens cut out. Sly looked up at Carmelita as Izuku rushed up and hugged her tightly, shaking and silently sniffling as the Fox Beastkin rubbed his head.
"What were you thinking coming here by yourself?" Sly demanded, his voice torn between anger, worry, and relief. "I told you everything Panda King told me about Clockwerk; does that NOT sound like something you'd need at least a team to deal with?!"
"You really expect me to let my SON face the devil himself without me?" Carmelita demanded firmly. "At this point, I practically have to arrest you for child endangerment just for bringing him here. And I DO have a team on route; the bird's goons delayed them and he has the Russian Military in his pocket to futher delay things."
Though Carmelita's gaze was firm, there was no true rancor in her tone.
"…Thank you." She managed. "For saving me."
Sly couldn't help but chuckle mirthlessly and shake his head.
"You are incorrigible..."
"Family trait," Carmelita countered with a smirk, ruffling Izuku's fluffy mane of green hair. "Where did you learn that trick, conjeto?"
"….Mizz Ruby." Izuku admitted. "She left me a 'dream lesson' and recommended some books I've been reading off to the side."
Both fox and racoon smiled at this; seeming their little boy was even more special than they'd realized; it was one thing to copy the Cooper's techniques, but to also use voodoo magic?
Managing a warm smile, Sly led the way forward once Carmelita blasted out the back wall of the chamber.
However, almost as soon as the trio exited the structure to a ledge over a pit of magma, one of Clockwerk's drones swooped down, seizing his and Izuku's canes and flying off. Carmelita quickly shot them both down, but the canes fell off in the distance.
"No!" Sly called out angrily. "I need that cane! It's been in my family for generations! And Izuku needs his-"
"Then go get them! I'll cover you from here!" Carmelita instructed them both.
"Just hold on tightly, okay?" Sly said to Izuku, who nodded.
"If you can, make your way to the top of the death ray. I stashed my jet-pack there before Clockwerk nabbed me." Carmelita instructed.
Sly smirked. "Now that we're a team and all, I hate to leave your side."
"You know, with everything that happened, I will have to make an attempt to arrest you once Clockwerk is dealt with. Otherwise, there will be questions back at HQ." Carmelita pointed out.
"I kind of expected that," Sly allowed. "I won't hold it against you."
Carmelita smirked. "I will, however, give you a ten-second head start."
Sly chuckled. "All I need."
With that, the dynamic duo took off, Carmelita providing covering fire, shooting the Fire Slugs that got too close to the pair, making sure they stayed safe.
As she saw Sly and Izuku reach the top of the death ray and reclaim their canes, she made a mental note to get them all some therapy. There was a lot for them to work through.
COOPER
After retrieving their canes, Sly and Izuku saw the jetpack at the top of the owl-shaped death ray structure, right where they'd thought it would be. As they looked, Bentley contacted them both.
"Hurry! The magnetronic support field for the death ray broke while you were racing for your canes from the obstacles Carmelita had to shoot out for you! The entire structure is going to sink into the magma before too long!"
"Right!"
Sly leaped to the nearest rail as Izuku clutched his back. He slid down rapidly, leaping to the next one before climbing back up when down ceased to be a viable option. He continued to leap through broken chunks of machinery as the structure fell apart, desperately making his way towards the top. He paused only while climbing when electrical fields blocked his path, and he still got as close to them as he dared so he could rush past when the field dropped. It was a relief to both of them when they reached the jetpack.
To Sly's surprise, the jetpack had a spot for Izuku to sit and control the guns, though the main controls at Sly's hands could override if no input from Izuku's controls was incoming. Once his son/little brother was strapped in, Sly took to the air, trusting their bond and cooperative efforts to maneuver around and shoot at whatever arose...and arise it did.
"SLY! IZUKU! BEHIND YOU!" Bentley cried out in alarm as the two turned around to see the visage of Clockwerk before them.
Clockwerk was a truly menacing figure; a giant anthropomorphic owl with a slender body...a body composed of sturdy ancient but sturdy metal. His arms and legs were lanky and ended in razor-sharp claws and talons while his wings flapped with a fearsome beat.
The sight of the bionic bird made Izuku's blood run cold, his body tense and his breath hitch: To hear his voice was one thing; but to now be so close it would be effortless for either of them to touch each other?
The flashback came back: How effortlessly Clockwerk had reduced Izuku's birth father to bloody mulch. How he'd stabbed and tormented Inko…and how he'd SURVIVED AN ENTIRE BULIDING BEING BLOWN UP WITH HIM IN IT!
No other criminal had been this rerrifying; they'd all had egos, made msitakes, had smidgens of honor in their souls. There was none of any of those in the monster in front of Izuku and Sly.
"Sly Cooper, you have escaped my gas chamber and destroyed my death ray. Remarkable." Clockwerk grumbled, as if he felt he HAD to give Sly a merit of credit. "You Coopers always find a way to beat me."
Sly's eyes widened. "So that WAS you in the background of all those old pictures in the Thievius Raccoonus! How old are you?!"
"Perfection has no age."
"What? You're immortal?" Sly sarcastically quipped.
"Revenge is the primary ingredient in the fountain of youth. I've kept myself alive for hundreds of years with a steady diet of jealousy and hate, awaiting the day when I would finally eclipse your family's thieving reputation."Clockwerk explained.
"A-And then what?" Izuku asked, holding off his fear as best he could. "How would you know what being a thief is about?"
"What I desire is to raven this world until I ultimately cease to function. The legacy I leave behind shall never be forgotten, my mark upon the land forever scarred."
"Sly! Izuku!"Carmelita called into the communicators."My missiles don't hurt him but seem to create holes in his armor. Shoot into the gaps I create!"
"Got it! I'll aim for the holes!" Izuku said, his eyes narrowing as his fear gave way to anger.
Yes, he was terrified. What little boy wouldn't be? But this monster had killed Sly's family, stolen their legacy, kidnapped and tried to kill Carmelita and Sly…Two of the four people who had done everything to keep him safe for as long as he could remember. Some may have called the boy crazy, but in his mind?
Now it was his turn to keep them safe.
Sly kept control of the jetpack, flying around to evade the purple blasts of hate-fueled energy that Clockwerk fired off. Every so often, one of Carmelita's stun rockets would impact part of Clockwerk's body, and Izuku would immediately fire on that part as much as he could before the charge faded or the plate shattered. After shattering the plates on his face, his legs, his tail, and one wing, he was no longer able to maintain flight and crashed into the magma.
"Nice shooting, guys!"Bentley cheered."You got him!"
However, it was obviously too easy as Clockwerk pulled himself out of the magma, emergency jet thrusters coming out of his back to support his wings.
"Wow, that's one tough owl."
"I don't get it. You're so familiar with my family, you must have known my father had a son." Sly said. "If you hated the Coopers so much, why did you let me live when you stole the Thievius Raccoonus?"
"Because I wanted to show the world that without your precious book, the Cooper line was NOTHING!"Clockwerk spat.
"That's where you're wrong. The Thievius Raccoonus doesn't create great thieves, it takes great thieves to create the Thievius Raccoonus!" Sly retorted. "And what about Izuku? If you knew Inko had a child, why didn't you track him down when she sent him away?"
"In that case?" Clockwek mused. "I needed time to repair myself after the explosion. And I knew no one important would pick up a screaming toddler; Japan has a very strong 'Bystander syndrome' after all. And even if someone did, without proper guidance, the boy would have vanished into the masses of society, ignorant of his hertige. A fitting end for the spawn of such worthless wits."
"Why do you even hate the Coopers and Midoriyas so much?!" Izuku cried out angrily. "What did they ever do to you?!"
"They dared to play hero in a way of life that only the strongest survived." Clockwerk said. "The first Cooper stole flowers and dinosaur eggs I myself had stolen from a fool of a bird who denied me. And his kin, scavengers that they were, dedicated their existences to taking what others had already done. Your family were little more than parasites who dedicded to aid them out of some antiquated sense of honor, rather than take what they could've themselves. The worst thing of all? They persisted!"
A chuckle escaped the cyborg bird.
"And I began to HATE! Your softness! Your self righteousness! Your deluding yourself as heroes when you're no better than other thieves. And above all else, your tendency to hope."
"But hate is not the answer!" Izuku cried.
"Hate? HATE? HATE?!"Clockwerk roared out, making the boy and racoon cower."LET ME TELL YOU HOW MUCH I'VE COME TO HATE YOU AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOUR ILK SINCE I BEGAN TO LIVE! THERE ARE 387.44 MILLION MILES OF PRINTED CIRCUITS IN WAFER-THIN LAYERS THAT FILL MY COMPLEX AND REPLACED MY BLOOD, BONES, AND ORGANS. IF THE WORD "HATE" WAS ENGRAVED ON EACH NANOANGSTROM OF THOSE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF MILES, IT WOULD NOT EQUAL ONE ONE-BILLIONTH OF THE HATE I FEEL FOR YOU COOPERS AT THIS MICRO-INSTANT! FOR YOU! HATE! HATE!"
"You're insane..." Sly growled out.
"ENOUGH, SLY COOPER!" The robotic owl said, his voice returning to a normal volume and tone. "It ends here for both you and the boy! I'll finish you both like I finished your parentsthen the Cooper line will be erased and the only master thief will be...CLOCKWERK!"
"Not on my watch..." Izuku growled out.
The young boy channeled the anger he felt, recalling a spell he read in Mz. Ruby's spellbook and then focused it as he sent it forward with his mind.
"METEOR SHOT!"
Massive blasts of voodoo magic focused to the point of being solid spheres shot at high speeds from the rockets of the jetpack, shorting out the launchers as they flew. They slammed into Clockwerk's wings, punching huge holes in each and sending him crashing into the lava anew.
"Now's your only chance, guys!"Bentley called out."You've got to get to his head and destroy it before his auto-reconstruct circuitry kicks in!"
Sly rushed across the obstacles Clockwerk scattered to prevent him from getting close, landing on Clockwerk's back.
"This is for my father..."
"And this is for my mother..."
With white-hot fury driving them, Sly and Izuku wailed away at Clockwerk's face with their canes, ripping apart his structure even as he gave his last words.
"COOPER! YOU WILL NEVER BE RID OF ME! CLOCKWERK IS... SUPERIOR...!"
With one last blow from both thieves, Clockwerk's head collapsed, and the body stopped moving altogether. As Clockwerk collapsed, Sly was able to snag the last bit of the Thievius Raccoonus from him, finally having collected the entire tome and restoring the family legacy. He and Izuku settled on the edge of a metal bridge jutting out over the caldera of the volcano, watching as the pieces of his body fell into the magma.
For a good while, they didn't say a word. It was as if they didn't believe what had just happened was real; the monster of their nightmares. The killer of their parents. Finally destroyed.
Tears suddenly escaped Izuku's eyes. He didn't even realize; a smile overtook his face. He glanced at Sly, who managed to hold back his own tears and take the boy into a hug, letting Izuku cry his relief away and fall asleep.
"That's him dealt with,".
Sly chuckled as he spied Carmelita observing the scene calmly
. "Ah, who could forget the lovely Carmelita Fox?"
"Izuku, conjito? Let the adults sort some things out." Carmelita said as Izuku nodded and hurried over to the van where Bentley and Murray were. "You know I can't just let you go without trying to catch you, Cooper."
"Being chased my whole life by a lady as pretty as you? I'm hardly one to complain." Sly playfully retorted.
Carmelita chuckled softly. "Really not an appropriate time for flirting."
Sly found himself smirking. He'd noticed Carmelita tended to shift her mindset completely for whatever she was doing. She was either all business, or all motherly when Izuku was concerned.
"You know, I still owe you that 10-second head start." Carmelita chuckled. "Starting now."
As the countdown went down, Sly slowly sauntered up to Carmelita, a flirtatious grin on his face. Carmelita grew more confused as he approached, her count becoming less firm and more concerned, her stun cannon lifted slightly. And then at "one", Sly lunged in, locking lips with Carmelita for a deep, passionate kiss. Her entire body relaxed as she stared in stupefaction as he pulled away. He'd never taken the lead in showing affection before.
"S-Sly..." she stammered out.
"Zero," Sly whispered with a smirk as he leaped over her, bouncing from a nearby rock pinnacle straight into the van before it drove off.
Carmelita blinked in surprise, then turned to go, only to find her gun hand pulled up short. Turning, she saw she was now cuffed to the bridge. She knew, even with the keys in her pocket, Sly and the others would be long gone by the time she could get on the trail.
"I'll get you for that, Ringtail..." she growled irritably under her breath.
COOPER
*SLY POV*
It took some tricky maneuvering, but I managed to snatch that last piece of the Thievius Raccoonus from Clockwerk's claw. I had taken down each member of the Fiendish Five: Raleigh, Muggshot, Mz. Ruby, the Panda King... and finally Clockwerk. I'd beaten them all one by one and reclaimed my birthright.
Of course, there was no way I could have gotten here without the help of my pals. I know this hasn't been easy for them, but they stuck with me through it all. Murray. Boy, it took a lot of guts for him to get out in the field with me. I know he was scared, but he's got more heart than anyone I've ever known. Thank goodness for Bentley. Without his expertise, I'd have never found my way off that rooftop in Paris. A guy couldn't ask for a better gang of friends.
And of course, who could forget my loyal little buddy Izuku. Despite how much I was against him going out into the field do to how young he was, he showed admirable courage throughout everything and even compassion to our enemies.
And last but not least, I definitely can't forget the lovely Inspector Carmelita Fox. Well, guess we're back to playing Cops & Robbers now but in all honesty, that's all part of the fun.
And of course, with the Thievius Raccoonus restored to its full former glory, the time had come for me to chronicle my own adventures into the great book. This is gonna be fun.
Knightmare Lord A/N:
And so ends the Sly 1 saga! Next, we go to Sly 2, where a lot of the events in that game will be greatly altered!
I gave Clockwerk an anthropomorphic design based on a piece of fanart I saw once since it was weird to have him be a full regular giant owl compared to everyone else. I also had him recite AM's iconic Hate Speech from "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream" because I felt like it fit his character.
Any thoughts, main man Mrotrax?
Mrotrax A/N:
Funny enough, down the line in the original version of this story, Clockwerk's Anthro design was going to be the main villain of the MHA movie Two Heroes, so I'm happy to see it. And I have to agree; while the more 'normal' owl design makes him stand out, I do prefer the new design
As we don't fully know Clockwerk's backstory, I decided to mix some of the most common 'semi-tragic' backstories some fans have come up with, but keep our favorite Bio-droid Bird as a Social Darwinsit Complete Monster of a villain, who hates that the Coopers have done good with their skills as he feels that goes against the whole principal of thievery.
Admittedly, I feel Clockwerk's reasoning for abandoning the hunt for Izuku may be a little lacking; basically him being racist towards humans and feeling no one in the world's frankly apathetic society would take care of an orphaned baby. At least, no one important enough to warrant the boy becoming a threat.
I am open to suggestions for a better reason and if Knightmare Lord and I find one we like, I'll happily redo the section.
Until then? Stay safe, warm and happy!