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Chapter Text

I’ve been playing the Sly Cooper games for as long as I can remember. My childhood was filled with playing cops and robbers with my sister or watching her play through their story about adventure and brotherhood. The comfort an nostalgia of this game never went away. Even as an adult I go back and replay the games all the time. Just like many others in the gaming community who are fans of Sly, I’m still cursing Sanzuru for that cliffhanger in Thieves in Time. Which is why I decided to write this.

Now, we’re all so much older than when we played the games - therefore this story will have its moments that reflect that. We start off in the world of Sly 2, going all the way up past Thieves in Time.

Thank you for reading - and please enjoy the story of Sly and Alice Cooper. The Prologue will be released today.

Chapter Text

As the sun rose over Cairo Alice Cooper found herself scaling the side of a museum. The news of the Clockwerk Parts surfacing in Egypt came as a shock to everyone in the Cooper Gang. It's been two years since they last saw Clockwerk, scattered in pieces in the volcanic lava of the Krakarov Volcano in Russia. Sly and Alice felt unsteady knowing that their family's worst enemy was out there again. For Sly, it felt like all the work they did back then was meaningless, that they let their parents down instead of avenging them. Yet, if you looked at the siblings now, you’d think that was far from their minds.

“Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Sly asked Alice, giving her a hand up as the two stood over the skylight.

“Yes, Sly.” Alice insisted. Up until now, Alice had never been this close to an operation this huge. Sly couldn’t help but be worried. However much he loved his sister and her tendency to see the brighter side of things, she was enthusiastic to the point where it could be fatal.

Sly tossed a rope down into the room. Alice went down first, Sly following shortly after just as Bentley called through the binocucom.

“Breaker Alpha Foxtrot, this is the Wizard. Do you read me sitting ducks?” 

“I read you loud and clear, blizzard.” Sly quickly replied, causing Alice to shoot him a small glare.

“No Sly, I’m the wizard-“

“I read you loud and clear, lizard.” Sly said teasingly, a slight grin on his face. 

“Be nice.” Alice scolded, Sly rolling his eyes. Alice looked around the room as the boys talked, eyeing the large dinosaur skeleton that laid suspended over the center. Plants and artwork lined the walls and a small pond sat in the corner, right below the security station balcony. 

“No, Sly, you're not taking this seriously.”

“Yeah, I’m not. Listen, I know it’s everyone’s first time with a big operation like this so I need you to loosen up. We can’t miss the chance to get to those Clockwerk parts.” Sly said seriously, Alice starting to tune back into the conversation. “What’s your status?”

“Well, I’m in the basement. I can probably rewire this elevator if one of you powers it up from the security station.” 

“You got it, pal.” Alice said, looking over to the balcony. Alice snapped the baton she carried into an angle, allowing her to hook onto the bones and swing over. Sly looked at her worried. The skeleton shook as he pulled himself on top of it, swinging each time Alice let go to grab onto another piece. 

“Listen, Al, I know you’re eager but you need to slow down.” Sly said, jumping down onto the ledge with the security station. 

“Weren’t you the one just telling Bentley to loosen up?” she asked, narrowing her eyes as she flipped the switch to the station and it whirled to life. The elevator came up with a creak, revealing Bentley inside as he attempted to rewire it. Sparks flew through the elevator as Bentley swatted at them with one hand and the door opened. 

“Okay, let me get to that security computer.” Bentley said, walking past Alice and Sly as he went to work. Alice looked through the gate curiously, watching as Bentley took the spotlights offline. Then came the lasers. Finally the cameras were turned off, and the gate rolled up. “Presto, all clear,” he said with a smile.

“Thanks pal.”

“We’re still far from complete. Now that the security is offline Murray should be moving in position for your rendezvous. I’ll stay here and make sure everything goes as it should.” Bentley said to Sly and Alice. The two moved through the halls quietly.

They mainly were silent as Alice looked around the museum in awe. It was a whole different feeling; being in a place like that when you were not supposed to be. Never has she felt more alive then when on a mission like this. 

“Balcony is over here, Al.” Sly said, getting her attention back from where she stood. She ran back to where he was. “You staying focused?”

“Quit worrying, Sly.” she said, shaking her head. 

“I need to worry, Alice. This can be dangerous if something goes wrong.” he scolded her annoyance. “Are you staying focused?”

“Yes.” Alice said, irritated. “Now can we go?”

Sly shook his head and motioned to the rope that spanned to the next section of the museum. Alice went first, running over. The room was the rendezvous point for them with Murray, yet the area was empty.

“Where is he?” Alice asked Sly as he stepped onto the balcony. He looked around and shrugged. Then they heard a yell.

Up above, Murray came flying through the skylight. The area filled with glass as he flopped onto the ground. Alice gave Murray a smirk, then glared at Sly.

“Greetings, citizens. I hope you were not harmed by my thunderous entrance.” he said, looking between Sly and Alice.

“No Murray, we're okay.” Alice said with a grin.

“Can you channel some of the raw energy into the security gate?” Sly asked, pointing to the gate.

“Of course, it’s nothing before “The Murray.” Murray said, walking over and prying the gate open. He held it open as Sly and Alice made their way through, him coming after. The three made it to the balcony, seeing that the next building over has a window that the two would have to make it through. Murray immediately had a solution. 

“Another obstacle stands before you. Fear not, I shall bend it like the truth!” 

Murray threw a large statue towards the window, shattering it. 

“Solid work Murray.” Sly said, impressed. Murray smiled at the comment, nodding towards the next tower. 

“Of course. I’ll meet you on the side door once you two unlock it. I’ll be ready to help you carry out the Clockwerk parts.”

Alice and Sly made their way across the rope. Alice stepped onto the balcony and walked into the showcase room, avoiding the broken glass. She furrowed her brow as she scanned the area.

“Uh, Sly?” she asked, as her brother came through the window. “Don’t think this room is supposed to be empty.”

“It’s empty?! ” Bentley exclaimed over the binocucom. “This is all wrong! We need to pull the plug on this operation right now!”

That’s when Carmelita Fox burst out one of the coffins at the edge of the room, another constable following out of the second one. She raised her pistol at the two siblings. 

“Freeze, Coopers!”

“Inspector Fox, as beautiful and unpredictable as ever.” Sly said, looking between the two with curiosity. Alice rolled her eyes.

“Whereas you crooks are so predictable. You always return to the scene of the crime.”

“Crime? We haven’t stolen anything… Yet.” Sly said, looking between Alice and Carmelita.

“I never understood that cliché either, what reason would we return-“ Alice started, looking at Sly as he shrugged to say he was not sure either. 

“Enough! Don’t play dumb with me.” Carmelita said sternly, as the constable next to her shrugged. “Who broke in last night and stole the parts? You two have the motive.”

Alice and Sly shared a nervous look at this newfound information. If the parts were already out there, they’re in trouble. A million possibilities ran through their head as they tried to determine just what could be done with robotic parts; each new one worst than the last. 

“It might have not been them, Carmelita. All methods point to this being a Klaww Gang job.” the constable's voice melted over her tongue, drawing Alice in and intriguing her right away. 

“The Klaww Gang?” Alice asked, and Carmelita continued. 

“Constable Neyla, I allowed you to sit in on this stakeout as a favor to the Contessa.” Carmelita said, annoyed. “I really do not need any help-“

Alice looked to Sly, who nodded towards the back exit. Carefully the two sneaked past the two cops as they argued. They made it out of sight, just as they heard a yell. 

“THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!”

“Time to run, Alice!” Sly exclaimed, as they picked up the pace. The burst through the exit, jumping a fence down onto the lower level of the museum. Inspector Fox and Constable Neyla came running up behind them as Murray came in through the side door. 

“Oh geez, wait up guys!” Murray exclaimed.

“It’s time to go, Murray!”

“This wasn’t part of the plan!” Bentley exclaimed, running back in through a door. 

“Well, this is when things get fun.” Sly said, noticing they were nearing the end of the hallway. “Go warm up the van, I’ll keep Carmelita busy!”

Alice opened one of the side doors as Bentley and Murray ran through. She ran with them to the outside of the museum, finding the van where they stashed it in the alleyway. Sirens were heard in the distance as they jumped in the van and Murray stepped on the gas.

“Wow they are everywhere.” Alice exclaimed, watching as cop cars chased their van. Murray snaked through the roadway below the museum as Sly ran above them, the sky filling with light from Carmelita's shots and the sun rising over the buildings. 

“Who is the Klaww Gang?” Bentley exclaimed furiously, throwing open his laptop as he started typing away. 

“Sly, I’m heading towards your position. Jump in fast so we can get out of here!” Murray said over the binocucom ear pieces, as he stepped on the breaks and Alice threw the back doors open. She pulled her brother inside, slamming the doors shut as Murray pushed on the gas. Alice sat down across from her brother as he caught his breath, a smile on his lips.

“She’s as angry as ever.” Sly said with a smirk, watching as Carmelita cursed them from down the street.

We made it away from that museum in Cairo, narrowly avoiding Carmelita Fox and her new partner. That Constable Neyla… That mention of the Klaww Gang a slip of the tongue, or an intentional clue? Either way, it gave us a new lead on the Clockwerk Parts. 

Clockwerk was consumed with jealousy for the Cooper family reputation. Is it inappropriate to refer to him as a monster? No, no it is not. What kind of person stays alive for that long, bent on wiping out a rival’s family line? Imagine the hatred behind the first decision to replace his mortal body with soulless machinery. Ultimately, it did the trick. 

He caught up with my parents - murdering them and stealing the Thievius Raccoonus. I can still hear him, moving around our home that night as Sly and I were hidden away. It’s been years since then and I can still hear his breathing; still see the glow of those red eyes.

Sly and I ended up in an orphanage. That’s where we met Bentley and Murray; our brains and brawn of the group. They made up the only family we needed. Two years ago, Sly defeated Clockwerk and we thought that was the end of it. Looking back it was naïve to think we could easily put an end to that kind of hatred. Now he’s back. In pieces sure, but the threat is real. Does the Klaww Gang even know what they’ve stolen, or is that the exact reason why they stole it?

I don’t know what’s in the future. 

But I won’t let it be a repeat of our past.

Chapter Text

Sly called in a few favors to get the details on the Klaww Gang’s local operator - Dimitri. This guy lives the best of both worlds: equally at home in high class art circles and shady back alley crimes. He was once a passionate art student who worked hard to create his own style. Unfortunately the art world wasn’t quite ready for his “kinetic aesthetic.” So he gave them what they wanted and started forging old art pieces. His way of punishing those with bad taste. Just another angry artist, bent on pushing his own agenda. Dimitri runs a nightclub on the west side of Paris. The thumping music, colorful light shows and a hint of danger are used to lure in chic young patrons from far and wide. And inside, is where we will find the Clockwerk tails feathers. I can only imagine what he has planned: but it doesn't matter, because it ends tonight.

The time it took to get back to Paris gave the team plenty of time to study up on their newest operation. They were already fortunate enough to be familiar with the area, the nightclub being only a little down the street from their current hideout. Bentley determined that the best point of action to start with is for him and Alice to set up a satellite antenna atop the hideout while Sly and Murray worked their way into the operations room.

They arrived late but immediately got to work. Alice felt frustrated as she sat with Bentley, him teaching her how to wire the antenna to their communications array. Their lack of sleep certainly was not helping. Too much was on her mind as Bentley attempted to explain her task. 

“Alright, connect the red wire to the white one, but do not-“ Bentley started out, as Alice attempted to follow along. Sparks flew when she bent the wire the wrong way, making her drop them and wince. “Do not bend them.”

“Sorry, Bentley.”

“How about I do it, you watch?” he suggested. Alice hesitated, then handed over the work to Bentley. “It’s okay to not get it on the first try.”

Alice doesn’t say anything, just watches as Bentley attached the wires together. She could feel the turtle glancing at her as he secured the wires to the roof. 

“Something on your mind?” he asked, causing her to finally look back at him. 

“Sly’s been on me since Istanbul.” Alice confessed, annoyed. “It’s like he doesn’t trust me.”

“I don’t think it’s that.” he said, nodding over to where the antenna laid. “It’s ready to be bolted down. Have you tried talking to him about it?”

“Good one, Bentley.” Alice said, giving him a smirk. “I know I messed up and we almost got caught. But since then he’s acting like every move I make it could happen again.”

“We’ve all made mistakes, Alice, Sly included.” Bentley said, shaking his head. “You don’t need to beat yourself up over it like you have been.”

Alice knew Bentley was trying, but his words did not help; so she gave him a smile as the two moved on. She then moved over, bolting down the new antenna to their hideout.

“So what’s it do again?” Alice asked, glancing at Bentley as he powered it up.

“It’ll allow me to steal information from Dimitri.” he informed her, opening his laptop. “Speaking of, it looks like Sly just made it to the operations room. Wanna go power up the satellite array?”

“You got it.” Alice nodded, leaving Bentley on top of the safe house. She quickly located the first satellite dish on top of a water tower. As she made her way over, Alice took the time to think about her conversation with Bentley. 

He wasn’t wrong to suggest confiding in Sly; in fact, it would be a logical step in a situation like this. The only issue is that Alice knew her brother well. Sly is usually not one to talk about what's on his mind. Anytime he has come close he changes the subject or deflects the question. So the best thing was not to try, right?

Still, it bothered her how much he didn’t trust her. You’d think after growing up together, being part of the only family they have they’d be a lot closer. So, really, the truth is Alice did not know her brother well at all.

The satellite dish made a low humming sound as Alice approached the control box. Her eyes scanned the control board, finding the switch to power it up. She then used the switch to turn the dish and aim it at the safe house antenna. 

“Perfect, I’m getting all the goods on Dimitri as we speak.” Bentley said through Alice’s earpiece, signaling that what she just did worked. “Head on back, we’re ready to go over the plan.”

---—

Sly stood in the large vent of the operations room out of sight. Dimitri just so happened to be there, making his rounds to make sure everything was running smoothly. Sly scanned the room, eyeing the large generator hanging from the ceiling. That’s when he spotted them. 

The Clockwerk tail feathers were constantly moving, slapping down new layers of ink onto paper tirelessly. So he’s printing money. Sly thought, shaking his head. The feathers will never wear out. 

Sly pulled out his binocucom and aimed it out through the vent unnoticed. He snapped a picture of the printer, the generator, and Dimitri. That should be enough for Bentley. 

Done with his work, Sly turned and exited the vent the same way he came in. Working out of the cellars went faster than working his way in, a lot less guards present and security taken down. 

Sly walked back into the hideout with his new photos in hand, earning curious looks from his friends and Alice.

“He’s printing money,” Sly said, tossing the pictures on the table to let everyone look through them. “With material like the Clockwerk tail feathers, he’ll never run out of printing plates. What kind of thief prints money, anyways?”

“His security is tight in his club.” Bentley said, scanning the pictures. He shakes his head in disappointment. “We can’t work much with what we have yet. Let’s get a bug planted in his office, from all accounts I’ve heard Dimitri is a talker. And if you see him outside, tail him.”

Bentley walked over to his desk and started rummaging through his drawers. No one needed to ask, already knowing what he was looking for. Bentley leaned back up with a small device in his hand. A product of his own design, Bentley made his bugs small and virtually unnoticeable.

“What would we attach it to?” Alice finally asked.

“Being an art lover, Dimitri has a very expensive painting in his office that this little guy can be attached to.” he replied, shaking the small speaker in his hand slightly. “There happens to be a less expensive duplicate of the painting displayed in the park. Didn’t want to risk the weather, I’m guessing.” 

“I get it, switch the paintings out.” Alice said, approving of the plan. 

“Any place Dimitri frequents the most?” Sly added, as Bentley nods and starts to type on his computer. 

“I intercepted an email from Dimitri-“ Bentley said, looking between his friends. “He has a boat east from the hideout. His men say he’s been spending a lot of time there.” 

“Perfect, I can draw him out of there easily.” Sly said, a mischievous grin on his face.

“I’ll head to the park then.” Alice said, outstretching a hand to Bentley. He sits the bug piece in her hand when she pockets it. 

“Anything I can do, Bentley?” Murray asked, looking for action.

“There will be, pal. Might need you to destroy a few things.” Bentley informed him, earning an enthusiastic nod from Murray. “It’s late. Let’s all grab some sleep before we start again.” 

Chapter Text

The team was up before the sun was; Alice sat with her gaze fixed out the window at the peacock sign, waiting for her binocucom to finish charging. She fiddled with the familiar silver band on her finger, engraved with the Cooper family sigil. Her mind was lost in memories as she thought of her parents.

Around the time she turned five years old was when she truly learned everything about her family. It was also around the time Conner Cooper decided Sly would be the one to carry the family cane. Still, something didn’t sit right with him. Both of his children needed to have a piece of their family. That’s when he decided on the ring. 

It was engraved and given to Alice when she turned six years old the next year. She could still remember when her father handed it to her, connected to a string… But after how long it’s been, she cannot remember what he told her that day. A piece of her cracked and faded away at the realization.

The binocucom dinged, snapping her out of it. Alice took the piece off the charger and left out the door without a word as Murray snacked and Bentley worked. Sly was already out, looking for any sign of Dimitri. Now it was up to her to do her part.

“Alice, you there?” Bentley’s voice came through the binocucom, causing her to take out her camera.

“What do you got for me?” Alice asked. 

“Did you or Sly sleep at all last night? Both of you left without a word.” Bentley asked, showing some concern . 

“Relax, pal. I got enough to keep me going.” Sly piped in, listening. “Besides, we have some work to do.”

“Well, one thing I can tell you guys is that Dimitri slept in his boat last night.” Bentley said. “So his office is empty for you, Al.”

“On my way.” Alice said, pocketing her binocucom. 

With one small stretch Alice climbed to the rooftop above her, jumping from each one until the park came into view. A tree peeked up above the rooftops as the sun rose. The painting sat on a table underneath, sheltered from the world above. Alice picked the painting up and fastened it to the clasp on her back. 

“Heads up Al, Dimitri’s on the move. Be careful to avoid him.” Sly’s voice came through her earpiece, giving her a warning. 

“Thanks, Sly.” Alice said, ears peeking up as she made it back to the roof. Her eyes scanned the area, catching sight of guards doing their morning patrols on the ground and the roof. She carefully moved toward the water tower as the air started to warm up which told her time was moving quickly. Alice knew she had to get in and out of Dimitri’s office quickly if he’s already on the move. 

Alice made it to the front of the building as Dimitri started walking down the street. She could see Sly from the rooftop above, watching as he walked down the ramp next to the water. Just by the way Dimitri walked you could tell he was feeling paranoid; looking over his shoulder wherever he went. Something told Alice this Klaww Gang business was a lot deeper than she thought. 

She slid the window into the bar up and climbed inside. The music could be heard from the nightclub, thumbing so loudly the walls shook. Across the room was the door to Dimitri’s office. A few guards stood not far from it, looking like they’re ready to fall asleep. 

“Hey Bentley,” Alice said, pulling out her binocucom. She zoomed in on the drowsy looking guards as one yawned. “Think they can benefit from catching some sleep.”

“Well, you have some of the sleep darts,” Bentley said, thinking. “Unfortunately, that door is locked from the outside. But you should be able to put those guards to sleep and make it to the air vent above.”  

“Thanks, pal.”

Alice hung up, removing a small sleep dart from her pocket. She then drew her slingshot from her bag. She pulled the string back, put the dart in, and let it loose.

The dart soared through the air and hit a guard in the back of the head. The guard immediately lost consciousness, falling asleep and hitting the floor with a thud. His partner looked over him concerned, and just as he was about to turn and look at Alice a dart hit him on the side of the head. 

“Solid work, you see a way to the vent above?” 

“Looks like there’s a ledge I can use to pull myself up.” Alice said to Bentley, who was walking out onto the floor. She eyed the seating area, finding it equipped with wall to wall lasers.

“Dimitri has been in the pump room for awhile,” Sly piped in, joking the call. “It’s possible he’s going to his office next. I’d make quick work.”

Alice made her way to the podium next to the overhang above the door, pulling herself up to where the vent was. After squeezing herself inside it did not take Alice long to drop off into Dimitri’s office. His office did match the impression she had of him; a voguish carouser who holds style above all. The back of the office had full sized windows that allowed him to watch clubbers as they danced. His desk was huge and lavish, and right next to it on a podium, was the exact painting Alice had strapped to her back. Alice switched the paintings, equipping the false one with the bug and left the office. Just as Alice left out the window of the bar, she heard the front door open and shut.

Sounds like Dimitri’s back. She thought, pulling herself to the roof of the building. Alice stopped for a moment to center herself in her surroundings. Goosebumps then ran up her neck, signaling to her she was being watched. 

“Not so fast, Cooper.”

Alice stood face to face with Constable Neyla. She looked the same as she did back in Cairo; she must have rushed over here like the gang and her did. Alice smirked.

“Constable Neyla,” she quipped, scanning the women questionably. “Surprised to see you here.”

“Oh please, I led you here.”

“So that Klaww Gang hint was a clue.” Alice said, enlightened. “Why are you helping us?”

“I’m not as black and white as Carmelita.” Neyla shrugged, walking across the rooftop as she spoke. “I know what a menace those Clockwerk parts can be. I don’t want people like the Klaww Gang putting them to use.”

“So, what, it takes a thief to catch a thief?” Alice asked, curious. “Seems a bit contradictory on your end.”

“Yeah, well…” Neyla said, thinking. “Either way, if I’m going to trust you I need to know you can keep up. Literally.”

Neyla grinned, turning and running the other direction out of Alice’s surprise. “Wait up!” Alice called with no response from Neyla. The two ran through the streets of Paris, catching a few unsuspecting guards on their way. As Alice ran after her she soaked in the moonlight, the cool air. 

The two came to a stop at the doors of Dimitri’s nightclub. Th music could be heard from outside, drawing in any young patron who dared to cross its path. Neyla dug in her pocket, revealing a small key that she held out to Alice.

“Now, legally, I can’t enter Dimitri’s night club without a warrant,” Neyla said, looking towards the door. “But, I happen to have obtained a key that I’m sure you’ll find useful.”

Alice looked at her surprised, but took the key without argument. “I think we’ll work well together.”

Neyla smiled. “I’ll be seeing you around, Cooper.” 

Alice watched as Neyla disappeared into the night; feeling satisfied. The key will definitely prove useful. Their plan was falling into place. It was only a matter of time until they could all leave Paris, Clockwerk tail feathers in hand. 

Chapter Text

“Should we be trusting Neyla’s word?” Sly asked, concerned. “We’ve never had any help from an Interpol agent.”

“This would be a very different conversation if it was Carmelita, Sly.” Alice mentioned, causing Sly to narrow his eyes at his sister.

“We’ve known her longer.”

“And you have a thing for her-” Alice started, causing Sly to shake his head. 

“Not everything is about that, Alice-”

“The key Neyla provided us with will help us into the printing press room.” Bentley finally jumped in, diffusing the tension forming between the two siblings. “With the water pump destroyed, thanks to Murray,” Bentley nodded to the hippo, causing a smile to form on his lips. “We will have an easier time diverting the water pressure in the fountain. And with a key to the nightclub, I can get to work on that disco ball while everyone gathers in the theater for the night.”

“Why’s the disco ball important?” Sly asked, looking at Bentley confused.

“If I can get the disco ball to fall, it should loosen the peacock sign. We’re going to pull the thing down so it punches a hole through the fountain and into the printing press room.” Bentley said. “Alice: You and Murray can head to the water tower. Use your slingshot to bomb your way through the pipe cover. Murray can help you get a boost inside so you can divert the water pressure to the fountain and turn it off. As for Sly, you’ll be on standby waiting for the truck repairman to show up so you can swipe the keys to the truck. While everyone does their part, I’ll be bombing the nightclub. The vibrations should shake the sign loose, and we can start the final phase of our plan.” 

“Sounds like we all have our jobs then.” Alice said, standing up from her chair and looking at Murray. “Just you and me, pal.”

“Yes! The ultimate duo,” Murray exclaimed, following her lead. 

The team left the safe house and parted ways. The streets surrounding the nightclub were empty this time of night; most of the guards took up elsewhere. Timing was on their side for this plan. Out of all nights, tonight a show was planned inside the theater, which called all of Dimitri’s security inside. It was the perfect opportunity to work under the radar.

Alice and Murray approached the water tower, sharing a knowing look as they eyed the pipe cover. In one swift movement Alice placed an explosive dart in her slingshot, pulled back, and let loose. The cover shattered and fell to the ground. Alice could see the inside of the tower now, filled with pipes that twisted in every direction.

“Gimme a boost, Murray.” Alice said, as Murray held out his hands. Murray pushed Alice upwards, giving her enough airtime to grab onto the ledge and pull herself up. 

“Whaddya see?” Murray asked, as Alice looked back down at him.

“Just a bunch of pipes and switches, should only take a moment.” Alice said, looking over each one with a furrowed brow. I need to redirect the water so… I should just flip each switch. 

As Alice flipped each switch, she could see the water redirect in the other direction. She could tell she was done once the water started flowing through the pipes in the opposite direction she started with. 

“Solid work Ally, the repairman already exited the building.” Sly’s voice came through the binocucom, making Alice cringe slightly at the childhood nickname. When they were kids, their parents came up with the name. Alice always found it embarrassing so naturally, her older brother used it to get on her nerves. Now it was more of a habit for him.

Interrupting her thoughts was the feeling of the floor below her vibrating, signaling that Bentley started his work in the nightclub. Everyone was doing their part of the plan perfectly. Alice jumped down from the opening in the water tower and joined Murray’s side. The two started to walk back to the rendezvous point as planned. Only a moment later the ground shook, causing Alice to flinch and grab onto Murray for support. The vibrations stopped. Alice looked to the peacock sign, watching as debris fell from the top. 

“Bentley, what was that?” Alice asked, concerned.

“That was the disco ball.” Bentley said proudly, feeling satisfied. “Should make pulling that sign down easier.”

“I got the keys whenever you guys are ready.”

“Murray and I can pick up Bentley and get the truck, Sly, while you climb to the top.” Alice said, just as the two came into view for Sly. Sly tossed the keys to Murray, giving the two one final nod as they parted ways once again. Alice and Murray started in the direction of the truck as Sly climbed to the top of the peacock sign. 

“Hey Al,” Murray asked, causing her to look over. “Ya know, I was thinking when we’re done here, maybe… Can you make some of those brownies that you made at our last job?”

Alice smiled, giving Murray a knowing look. “You mean the everything brownies?”

“Yes, it was the perfect way to end the job!” Murray said excitedly. 

“I remember, you ate them all before Sly or Bentley had a chance to try.” Alice laughed, looking at her friend. “Sure Murr, I’ll make some.”

The two finally arrived at the truck, finding Bentley outside and waiting. Guards could be seen swarming the courtyard into the nightclub, unsuspecting of the three behind it all. 

“Sly’s heading to the top of the sign right now.” Alice said to Bentley, as the three piled into the truck.

“I had to sneak out an air vent, guys.” Bentley said, catching his breath as Murray drove toward the water fountain. “An air vent. They were all swarming the place!”

“We’re almost done, Bentley.” Alice said as the truck came to a skidding stop. Alice and Bentley stepped out of the truck, Alice getting behind the tow harpoon. 

“The guards are onto us!” Bentley exclaimed, pointing as a few started to approach the area, looking around curiously. Alice took aim at the top of the sign, Sly grabbing the hook and attaching it.

Sly slid down the rope, taking his cane and knocking a guard running towards him on his feet. Alice whipped out her baton and extended it into a staff; jumping from the back of the truck to help her brother. Murray threw the car in reverse and slammed on the gas. With a loud creak, the peacock leaned forward, the beak of the sign puncturing the fountain and making a large hole in the ground causing a few guards to fall in. 

“Now’s our chance, jump in and get the tailfeathers!” Bentley exclaimed, looking at Sly and Alice. Sly jumped through first, Alice following. 

The two fell into the printing press room to find Dimitri at the control panel of the printer. He was frantically trying to fix what they just broke; well, what the peacock sign just plunged it’s beak into. After a moment he noticed the Coopers standing there, looking between him and the tailfeathers that sat unmoving. 

“Gah!” Dimitri exclaimed, pointing an accusing finger at the two. “You’re bumming my house up and bringing me down. Why can’t you let birds and bees be free, bro!?” 

“Listen Dimitri, these feathers will bring a lot more than your house down-“

“Look bro, I see you’re a tough cowboy.” Dimitri said, looking at Sly with a devious look in his eye. “I’m sure two cats in a bag can work something out, right? You see the money… You like the money? You can take all you want.”

“Uh, no-“ Sly started, trying to step in and reason. Dimitri turned to her irritated. “Clockwerk can never see the light of day again. You have no idea what you-”

“What is this with Clocks, bro? Have you no vision?” he exclaimed, talking over Sly again. “You think you have the juice? You can swing the bat? Show your bling and let me shine you.”

“I have no idea what you’re saying.” Sly said, looking at Dimitri with a confused look. Then he gets an idea. “And… Your suit sucks.”

Dimitri screamed, insulted. “Let’s dance!”

“Grab the feathers!” Sly said to his sister as Dimitri jumped from the balcony that held the printer, Sly following shortly after.

Alice got to work on what was in front of her; the tailfeathers unmoving and frozen. They were held to the prongs of the printer with clasps. Unfortunately, as she tried to loosen them, they wouldn’t budge.

“Bentley, are you there?” Alice said over the binocucom earpiece. 

“What’s going on?”

“The tailfeathers won't come loose. You said the clasps should just pop off.” Alice explained, panicking. Then she looked at the computer. “Could it be some emergency security thing? The printer got damaged from our grand entry.”

“Definitely. Is the computer module still intact?” Bentley asked. Alice ran over to the computer and powered it up.

“Yup, it still works.”

“Override the security protocols. Do you remember my code?” Bentley asked.

 Alice ran through the security programs on the module. She racked her brain as she combed through lines of code. Then a light went off, and the recollection hit her. The hours of practice with Bentley in his own little creation; his hackathon games. His technique always worked, but she was never able to master it. 

“Here’s the moment of truth,” Alice finally said, just as a loud click came from the feathers. She ran over and started to slide them out of the prongs, the three heavy sheets of metal now in hand. 

Sly pulled himself over the railing, looking a bit rougher than when they got there. His face lit up at the sight of Alice holding the feathers. They were successful; and it felt good. Now for the easy part - getting out of Paris.

We had done it - Dimitri’s operation was ruined and we gained a part of Clockwerk. Carmelita’s arrival made our exit trickier than it was supposed to be. Angry that she missed us she took it out on Dimitri, closing down the nightclub and throwing the frustrated forger behind bars. Before we resumed our mission we stopped in a few Monaco casinos so Bentley could try out his new card counting technique.

Chapter Text

Bentley got word another Clockwerk Part had surfaced in India, so we all packed up and educated ourselves on our newest target; a mysterious lord named Rajan. He was what you could consider a self made man after growing up poor on the streets of Calcutta. Rajan invented his own mixture you see, and named it the Lord’s Malice - designed to cause extreme aggression in small doses, and agony in large ones. The substance attacks your nerve cells, pinching and pulling at them as it pleases, not only causing you to deteriorate mentally, but physically. This earned him a prestigious spot in the Klaww Gang. Since then he has crowned himself “Lord of the Hills,” and while he goes to great lengths to convince others of his royalty, it’s mainly to convince himself. To show off his acquired royalty he’s holding a lush ball in his newly purchased “ancestral palace.” And the main attraction, you guessed it - a piece of Clockwerk, more specifically the wings. Chills run down my spine just thinking of it. If you saw those wings silhouetted against the night sky, it was already too late for you, especially if your name was Cooper. Rajan believes displaying the wings would bring him the attention he lacked. Sure, but they’re also bringing us.

Lavish could not even begin to describe the royal compound the Cooper Gang rolled into that night. It was apparent that Rajan had managed to attract rich folk from all over India to attend his party - all thanks to the Clockwerk wings. 

It wasn’t until late morning the Gang’s plans went into full swing; and thus an issue arrived. Sly and Alice were the first to exit the hideout that morning to find that the drawbridge was up. With that, Bentley and Murray had no way to access the compound. 

“Bentley,” Alice called through the binocucom, Sly and her looking at the walls before them. “The drawbridge is up. Before we do anything we may have to let it back down. Do you think the guards in the area will have the keys?”

“Seems likely.” Bentley said, typing heard in the background of his voice. “Sly should pickpocket the guards stationed in the area to work on getting the drawbridge down. You can work on putting together a map of the area, and enter the main ballroom for some recon.” 

“You got it,” Sly said, looking at Alice. His expression falters. “You gonna be okay?”

“Why wouldn’t I be?” Alice asked, starting toward the compound walls, eyeing some vinery that draped down the side. Sly followed, shrugging. 

“It can all be so overwhelming, you know, that maybe-“

“Maybe what, Sly?” Alice asked, looking at her brother. “Why don’t you trust me?”

“Alice, it’s not that.“ Sly started to explain, but stopped. Words got caught in his throat as Alice’s expression hardened and shook her head. 

“Let’s just get this done.” she said, the pit in her stomach growing. Sly’s mood worsened at his sister’s response but said nothing. At this point, he wasn’t even sure what he was going to say. Ever since they went after Clockwerk the first time Sly had been different, a whole lot more closed off than he used to be. Sly shook his head at the thought he had formed, focusing back on the bigger task at hand. 

The two made it over the walls and into the compound, going their separate ways without a word to each other. Alice could feel the distance between her and her brother grow; both figuratively and literally. Little by little her connection to her family started to fade unbeknownst to her or Sly. It was only a matter of time before loneliness sets in, even if it may not be the case.

Alice found herself positioned on the side of the palace; the exact coordinates Bentley provided her to start her entrance. A balcony sat above a tunnel to the street below, light peeking in from the windows and a torch lit on the porch. Luckily the area surrounding her had plenty of trees. Branches stretched over the adobe ground, reaching into the railing above. It was the perfect bridge for her to get inside. 

Carefully and quietly she opened the door, making it into a private room that gave a perfect view of the ballroom. The official ball wasn’t until later tonight and the room was already crowded with patrons. Alice sat in awe of the decorations: golden ribbons lining the ceiling, the skylight in the middle allowing the sun to shine through to the floor. Music was playing as guests spoke. And right in the center of it all, bolted to a silver statue of a woman, was the Clockwerk Wings. 

“Alice, I see you made it inside.” Bentley's voice came through the binocucom, snapping her out of her thoughts. 

“Yeah pal, I see Rajan certainly took the opportunity to flaunt his wealth.” Alice said, taking out her binocucom to get a better view of everything. “I still don’t understand how we will get those wings out without anyone noticing.” 

“It’ll be no problem really, just get the photos and I’ll explain to everyone what I have in mind. Start with a few photos of the guests, the wings of course…”

Alice looked around and spotted Rajan. The garb he wore certainly looked lavish and expensive, completely on theme for the area they were in as well. The tiger carried himself with confidence and pride. Still, by the way you could see his eyes dart to each person in the room to see if they were looking at him, you can get a sense of his diffidence. 

“There’s the man himself.” Alice said, snapping a picture.

“Always good to study the enemy.”

That’s when Alice spotted something that could potentially complicate their mission. There, on the topmost balcony, stood Constable Neyla. She was dressed differently: her traditional clothing in line with the black tie dress code. Not far from her stood Carmelita Fox, wearing a strapless dress that went down to her feet and her hair pinned up. 

“Bentley, the cops are already here.” Alice said, taking a picture of the two policewomen. That’s when she spotted someone on the balcony she did not recognize. She stood tall, her hair resting in between her skinny shoulders and her red eyes shining so bright Alice could see them clearly from where she stood. The way the woman carried herself gave chills down Alice’s spine, watching as her many legs carried her to the balcony over. “Who’s that?”

“That’s the Contessa.” Bentley said as Alice snapped a picture. “She’s the warden of one of Interpol's tightest prisons. If the cops are already here, we have to work carefully.” 

Alice said nothing as she zoomed in on the Clockwerk wings, taking a couple pictures. Then a new face stepped out onto the floor, a large red headed mountain of a man. He looked tired and bored, as if nothing at this ball could interest him. He was certainly out of place. Alice took a picture.

“That’s Jean Bison.” Bentley chimed in. “Reports say he’s also a member of the Klaww Gang. He owns half of the trains in Canada, being a huge shipping baron. Looks like Rajan invited some of his friends.” 

Then Alice caught sight of a large case, as if magically being wheeled around on its own. What surprised her was what was inside; a small bird with a large beak. He was scrawny and his wings were tiny, probably too small to allow him to fly. She took another picture. 

“That’s Arpeggio. Another Klaww Gang member. All I can find about him is that he specializes in technology…” Bentley said, unsure. “But that’s it. He must be good.”

“Anything else you think you need here?” Alice asked, taking her binocucom and putting it in her pack.

“No, that should be enough. Head on back and we will make a plan.” 

Alice exited the building, noticing the sun already higher in the sky then before she went inside. The day was going fast. On her way back to the safe house Alice noticed the drawbridge was down, which told her Sly had finished his job. She then entered the safe house and took out the photos she just took.

Everyone leaned over the photos, studying every person there. Sly spotted the one of Carmelita and looked it over with a smirk. 

“She looks pretty,” he commented.

“It’s going to be difficult to get our hands on the Clockwerk Wings in the middle of a crowded ballroom.” Bentley said, ignoring Sly’s comment. Alice furrowed her brow, thinking. 

“We may have to use some misdirection.” Alice suggested, thinking. 

“I’m more concerned about the security chopper I saw outside.” Sly said, Bentley nodding in agreement. 

“Agreed. Murray can take that out easily with one of the turrets attached to the compound walls.” Bentley said, looking at Murray now. “We’re still working on the plan. Wanna go take care of that chopper, pal?”

“A turret? I had a potato gun once, I think it works the same…” Murray shrugged, waving to his friends. “The Murray will return.”

“As for you two,” Bentley said, looking at Sly and Alice as Murray left the safe house. “We need to get in that ballroom. Unfortunately, there’s a dress code.”

“We can raid the guesthouse.” Alice suggested, shrugging. “May be a bit difficult to find our size, but we could get lucky.”

“Sounds like a good idea. During the main heist we will need to find a way to keep the crowd distracted.” Bentley said, pulling out his computer. “I’d get going now. The sooner we get in the better.”

Chapter Text

Sly and Alice entered the guesthouse and found it completely empty. The events drew its guests to the main palace to enjoy currey and drinking. The guest house took up an entire section of Rajan’s royal palace, rooms lining up the hallway in both directions. The walls stretched high above them both. Every few feet the hallway had some sort of decoration, whether it be rugs or plants. 

“What should we do?” Sly asked, looking down the hallway at all the rooms. “Seems empty.”

“It’s not an exact science. Ransack the rooms until we find what we need.” Alice said, pushing past Sly and entering one room. 

The siblings split up and started tearing rooms apart. Alice entered one room that appeared to have multiple people staying in it; a fact she gathered after going through the closet. There were a few dresses displayed inside yet nothing in her size. 

Sly had a bit more luck in his room: already finding a dress shirt and bow tie. On the bathroom counter was a jeweled headband, which he stored in his pouch for Alice. 

The binocucom feed stayed silent, a slight buzzing noise buzzing in their ears as the two searched in silence. Alice wanted something to fill the noise, anything-

“I don't know why we never thought of just keeping something nice and formal with us,” Alice said finally through the binocucom, lifting a suitcase onto the bed of the room she was in. “Be a lot easier than what we’re doing now.”

“We have to travel light.” Sly replied, pulling out a formal shirt from the closet. In the bathroom sat a bow tie on the counter. “I’m almost-“ Sly was cut off at the realization he was no longer alone. 

“You’re not supposed to be here,” a deep husky voice said from behind Sly, making his hair stand up on end as he whipped around. Before him was a large rhino, air puffing through his nostrils as he brought his fist back and collided it directly into Sly’s nose. With a loud roar the rhino yanked Sly up by his neck, knocking the air out of him as he kicked wildly. The rhino stood his ground as he watched Sly struggle, pinning him between the wall and giving him no escape. As Sly became light headed he found himself unable to process just how long he had the rhino’s hand around his neck.

Alice came running into the room and in one swift movement brought her arm holding her baton back, hitting the rhino square in the back of the head. The large man fell to the floor and laid unmoving as Sly forced air back into his lungs. Alice ran to her brother’s side and assessed his injuries.

“Let me see-” she commanded, a hand on Sly’s shoulder as he coughed. 

“I’m fine-”

“Sly Cooper-” she scolded, finally causing him to give in. Sly looks up at Alice, and for a moment they were both kids again. They were back in the Happy Camper Orphanage after another one of the fights Sly would find himself in after defending her or their friends. At eight years old Alice would help fix her brother’s injuries, using the knowledge their parents gave her only two years prior. Most of Alice’s memories consisted of Sly with his nose buried in that book while their mother taught her first aid the next room over. The memory was so far away yet warmed the two at the thought. 

“Doesn’t feel broken,” Sly finally said, drawing her out of the thought she fell into.

“It’s not.” she agreed, standing up and helping her brother to his feet. “For a big guy he didn’t hit you very hard.”

“I found something you might like.” Sly said, pulling a jeweled headband out of his pouch. “I know you like to keep your hair back-”

“Thanks.” Alice said, causing Sly to smile. “I still need to find some shoes and a dress.”

“There’s a few in the closet.” Sly nodded, wiping the blood from his nose. Alice walked over, and found a strapless navy blue dress that looked perfect. Below, was a pair of heels. 

The two shut themselves away to change. Alice slipped into the dress easily. She let her hair down out of the ponytail she had it in and let it drape over her shoulders. She was unrecognizable. Anyone who may have known her would not know it was her, and that’s exactly what she was hoping for.

Once Alice made it into the hallway Sly stepped out, straightening his bow tie and looking at his feet. It took a second for Alice to recognize her brother.

“Looking snappy.” Alice said to him, a small grin forming. “Never seen you in a suit before.”

Sly looked up, surprised. “Wow.”

“What?” she asked, as Sly blinked slowly for a moment then shook his head. 

“You look so weird,” he said. Alice makes a face and hits Sly on the shoulder, making him laugh. He held out his arm for her to take, allowing them to blend in better. 

“Can we just go already?” she said, him nodding as the two headed out the door and walked toward the palace.

“Us looking like this will probably let us move through the city freely,” Sly said as the sunset washed over the two. “Probably look like a couple of aristocrats to unknowing eyes.”

“That’s the goal.” Alice mumbled, looking back and forth to the guards on patrol. “Listen, I had an idea,” she started, as Sly looked at her expecting her to say more. The two walked over the bridge, arm and arm and talking. “Dancing with Neyla would give you more attention from Carmelita.”

“Really?” he asked, curious. 

“Carmelita hates her guts, if you haven’t noticed.” Alice told him, smirking at the rivalry. “You dance with her, give her the time of her life, she’s bound to say something.” 

“We’ll see if Neyla goes for it.” Sly said as the two walked through the front doors. 

The ballroom floor was full of rich looking folk mingling and drinking, some dancing. Rajan sat on a throne in front of the statue that held the Clockwerk wings, majestically stretching over the room. 

“There’s Neyla.” Alice whispered, nodding to where Neyla stood, taking a drink and looking over the crowd.

The two walked over, already earning a nervous glance from Neyla as they approached. “Constable Neyla, you look lovely this evening.” Sly started out, smiling. 

“I’m sorry, do I know you?” she asked.

“We had a fun night in Paris.” Alice said, referencing their rendezvous. The tiger paused.

“Paris?” she questioned, as it dawned on her. “Ah, the Coopers. You’re not here to turn yourselves in, are you? Old ironsides would fall out of her dress.” Neyla nodded to Carmelita, who stood far away from her and watched the patrons as they socialized. 

“As good as that sounds,” Sly said, letting go of his sister's arm and stretching out a hand. “How about a dance first?”

Neyla smiled and took the hand, handing Alice her drink as she was dragged to the dance floor. Alice sat and watched as Sly danced with Neyla. She walked over, getting closer to where Rajan sat with Jean Bison by his side. Out of the corner of her eye she watched Carmelita approach.

“Who’s that?” Carmelita Fox asked, nodding to Sly and Neyla as they danced. Alice shrugged as she took a drink, acting as normal as possible to prevent Carmelita from recognizing her.

“Not sure. He picked me up outside.” she told her, as they watched him dance. “Quite the dancer.”

“Yes,” Carmelita said, her eyes fixed at the dance floor. “Quite.” 

Alice listened closely to everything around her; mainly Rajan who sat not far from where she was. It may be useful to eavesdrop on the enemy while she can. Rajan looked to be enjoying watching Sly dance. The old man had a grin on his face that almost made him look not as bad as he was. 

“That fellow is very graceful.” Rajan commented as Alice took another drink, finally realizing she drank half of Neyla’s cup. 

Great, She thought, looking down. She sat the cup down on the table next to her.

“If only you moved spice shipments as well.” Jean Bison replied as she coughed, almost laughing but regaining her composure. Rajan’s face hardened at the comment. 

“Are you alright?” Carmelita asked, as Alice nodded. The crowd applauded as Sly and Neyla walked back over to the two. Carmelita eyed Sly with immense interest; you’d almost think she recognized him on the dance floor. Yet she did not say she did.

“Neyla, your friend here is quite the dancer.” Carmelita said, looking to Sly. Alice recognized that look too easily; which almost made her want to laugh. 

“I tried to make him look good.” Neyla smiled, as Sly sat there almost beaming at Carmelita. Sly was relishing in the small moment he had where Carmelita had all her attention on him without a shock pistol being involved.

“Please Neyla, his skills far surpass you.”

“Perhaps you and I might share a dance later, Miss…” Sly started, trying to move past the comment. 

“Miss Fox… And I accept.” Carmelita said, smiling. Alice gave Sly a look from where the two talked to him, telling him it was time to go. She started to walk away to avoid suspicion from the two.

“Well ladies, if you excuse me I must be going.” Sly said, catching up to Alice as the two exited the ballroom and into the starry night.

Chapter Text

Alice and Sly entered the hideout when Bentley looked up from his laptop. Murray sat eating a bag of corn nuts as his friend worked, glancing over occasionally. 

“You guys look snappy,” Bentley said, a slight grin on the turtle’s lips. It’s a rare occasion for them to see eachother so dressed up. 

“That’s what I said,” Alice said with a laugh, removing the headband as Sly took off his suit jacket. Bentley then made a face, noticing the small cut on Sly’s nose.

“What happened to you?”

Sly touched his nose, as if forgetting what happened for a moment. “Giant guard.”

Bentley shrugged, continuing. “Well, I have some news. Some plans changed.” Bentley said. “The ball tonight is a masquerade ball. The masks will be provided as you enter; it’ll give you both an advantage on being unrecognizable. Good way to hide that cut too.”

“Sounds like fun,” Sly said.

“It gets better,” Bentley said, turning his laptop to show the two. On the screen was an elephant with a very expensive headdress, jewels on display on the top. “I was thinking - the Clockwerk wings were welded onto the statue. To cut through that you’ll need a very sharp blade. And those jewels can get the job done.”

“How do we get at them?” 

“The elephant pen is located in a hut next to the palace.” Bentley continued, pointing to a spot on the map in front of them. “As for getting them out, well… We will figure it out. Next thing,” Bentley looked between his friends. “I’ll take the chopper out and nullify the palace’s surface to air defenses.”

“Is that it?” Murray asked, curious. 

“Yes, then we will be ready for the heist. Don’t worry big guy, you’ll be a big part of the main operation.” Bentley assured the hippo, causing his friend to smile with pride. 

“I’m going to change and head out.” Sly said, leaving the main room of the hideout and entering a bedroom. Alice looked to Bentley as he grabbed his RC chopped from under the desk.

“You don’t mind if I tag along?” Alice asked.

“Sure thing.” 

The two exited the safe house and headed to the east of the compound. Alice followed Bentley to the top of one of the guesthouses, RC chopper in hand. The two took a seat as they prepared to start their attack.

“How was the inside, anyways?” Bentley finally asked, curious. Bentley and Alice had always been close; the fact the turtle was always so willing to listen and give gentle judgment was a comfort for Alice. Bentley always listened and valued what she had to say, even in times when she was afraid to say it. 

“Rajan is full of himself, that’s for sure.” Alice shrugged. “The place was well decorated. Neyla was more than happy to help us get Carmelita’s attention.”

“I thought you were dancing with Sly?”

“Figured it’d bother Carmelita more watching Neyla dance.” Alice said, a slight smile at the thought of the vixen’s jealousy. “It worked out well.”

“Good. We will all need to coordinate perfectly if we want the plan to go well.” Bentley said, picking up his controller and turning the chopper on. The blades whirled to life and lifted the green RC chopper into the air. The controller consisted of two switches and a button with a small screen on top, showing the user where the helicopter was going. When the button is pressed, bombs are released onto the ground below. 

“We talked a little bit too.” Alice said, watching the helicopter lift up and fly in the direction of the palace. “It wasn’t much.”

“It’d do you both some good to talk.” Bentley scoffed. Alice rolled her eyes at the comment. 

“Yeah, well, him first.” Alice said as Bentley rolled his eyes, not tearing them from the screen in front of him. “It was something, at least. I’m not going to sit there and talk if he won’t listen.”

“I can understand that. But just remember you can’t hope for something to change if you don’t make the effort for it to ch-“ Bentley started, cutting himself off as he eyed something on the screen. “There’s the jeep. Must’ve sensed me coming.” 

The two stayed silent as Bentley concentrated, pressing a button occasionally to attack the jeep. With the speed it was going it was difficult for the turtle to keep track of the vehicle. After a few more minutes a familiar look of satisfaction flashed over Bentley’s face, telling Alice he destroyed the jeep. 

“Now that’s done,” Bentley said, watching as the RC chopper flew back toward the two. “We can head back and start to get ready for the heist.”

——-

The room was dim as wealthy barons flooded into the ballroom once again, music playing softly in the background. Sly and Alice stood in line next to each other and acquired their masks for the ball. The room was the same as earlier; only the tables looked different, replenished with food. Sly was handed a deep red one that had golden detailing around the eyes and Alice was given a gray one with silver gems. 

“Reds not my color,” Sly shrugged, tying the string behind his head. “I’ll make it work.”

“Don’t be vain.” Alice quipped, earning a small glare from her brother. “Do you see Carmelita?” 

“I’ll find her. We should split up, keep the channel open.” Sly said, walking away from his sister as she nodded. As she watched Sly walk away, Alice started to feel exposed. Her anxiety rose as she scanned the room and took note of familiar faces. 

The music slowed down, as Alice took a small pastry from the table next to her. Everyone found a dance partner. Alice smiled as she saw Sly walk off with Carmelita, starting to dance. As she took a bite of the pastry an unsettling thought occurred to her: She did not see Rajan. Then she felt a pair of eyes. 

“May I have this dance, Miss…?” Alice whips around to see Rajan, extending a clawed hand as he waits for her answer. Rajan wore a mask as well, one that only covered his left eye and extended down the side of his face. Alice quickly sat down the pastry and regained her composure. I can’t say no.

“Conner,” she said, placing her hand in his. Her pulse quickened as she was led out onto the dance floor. Anxiety ran wild in her mind as she debated back and forth if this was a bad idea. Alice found herself looking everywhere but Rajan. Act normal. Slow down. 

“Alice, what are you doing?” She could hear Bentley’s voice through her earpiece but could not respond. Instead, she was pulled in to start the tango. 

“You know, Miss Conner, I make it a point to know everything about who enters my inner circle.” Rajan started out, looking her in the eye as he spoke. Alice looked up at the tiger. “Even uninvited guests.”

“Handsome, and a smart businessman?” Alice drawled, receiving an unchanging look from Rajan. Alice took notice of what was happening in the background; one of the wings to the statue was missing. Way to go, Murray. 

Still, her attempt at flattery did nothing to Rajan. “Smart, sure. But some seem to forget another important quality…” he said, thinking of his next few words. Another wing moves, disappearing from sight. “As I’m sure you can guess, reputation is everything. Especially if you make a dangerous one.”

“Doesn’t make many friends, does it?” Alice questioned, curious. Briefly she makes eye contact with Sly, who was glancing over at her with concern as he danced with Carmelita. 

“It’s lonely at the top, as they always say. But as you go you’ll find a few friends to hold onto, in fact, ones who’ll do you a favor if you do them one. Producing that much of my creation for the main event turned into quite the headache.” Rajan said, looking at Alice with a devious look in his eye. Something did not sit right with her on what he had just said. “But it’ll pay off.”

“Still, one thing nags at me…” Rajan continued, leaning in a bit closer. “This place is crawling with criminals far worse than you, and yet you are here, Miss Cooper. ”

The name drop made a chill run down her spine. He knows my name. Alice questioned if that was all he knew. Rajan definitely was not foolish; he’s already proven that. Being a crooked businessman his whole life definitely has taught him a thing or two. 

“But where are your friends?” he finally asked. So he didn’t know everything.

Subtly she looks up, finding Murray gone from the scene with the Clockwerk Wings. Bentley’s nasally voice rang through the binocucom channel. “ I’ll cover you Murray, get the wings to the van!” 

Time to go. Alice looked back at Rajan, a subtle smirk on her lips. “You certainly have proved you know everything, Rajan, but there’s one thing you are missing.”

“And what is that?”

“COOPER!” Carmelita shouted, holding a crumpled calling card and rose in her hand. Rajan jumped slightly, letting go of Alice and giving her the chance to slip away. “Everybody freeze! Interpol!”

“Wha-“ Rajan said, caught off guard by the sudden outburst. Alice followed Sly’s tail out the door as chaos enthused. Once outside and onto the palace grounds, the siblings found themselves running toward the van. 

“Screw it!” Alice exclaimed angrily, kicking off the heels to allow her to run faster. She gained speed on her brother, coming to a screeching stop at the van. 

“What the hell were you thinking dancing with Rajan?” Sly exclaimed angrily, looking at Alice with an incredulous look as they sat down in the van. Murray slammed on the gas and the van zoomed out of the palace compound.

“He cornered me, what else am I supposed to do?” Alice argued back, doing nothing to Sly.

“That was incredibly risky, Alice, not to mention-“

“It kept him distracted, Sly. Besides, he only recognized me-“ she started, Sly’s face growing angrier.

“That is no better-“ he started, as Murray glanced back at the two nervously through the rearview mirror and Bentley rolled his eyes. The two friends have heard Alice and Sly argue on multiple occasions, but as the conversation grew more tense Bentley grew more annoyed.

“Both of you, stop.” Bentley finally said, turning and looking back at the two. “Alice distracting Rajan did indeed help. Yes Sly, it was risky. Now it’s over. Can you both shut up now?”

The siblings stopped; looking between each other awkwardly as Bentley turned back around, facing the road. Despite Sly’s indignance, Alice still felt like she was on top of the world. That heist could have gone better, sure. Rajan’s drop of information left Alice in a state of rumination as they drove out of India. Yet with the bumps in the road, the Cooper Gang made it out of India with the biggest thing Rajan had. 

After we made our grand escape, chaos ensued in that ballroom. The moment Inspector Fox blew her cover fights broke out, then she started making arrests left and right.

I've been running over everything Rajan said - and I come back to the same conclusion each time. He laced the food with the Lord’s Malice, but why? He never got that far. After Sly cooled off I told everyone about the conversation we had, and Bentley agreed with my conclusion. Despite having ingested the concoction from the food I ate, I did not experience the side effects. Bentley theorized it was the adrenaline that counter-acted the aggression. Lucky for me, but terrible for anyone in that room after we left.

With his reputation in shambles Rajan went into hiding. In the meantime we took a break and spent some time in Bollywood before we continued our search for Rajan. After my encounter with the man on the dance floor, something told me that things were about to get dangerous.

Chapter Text

We had to get creative, but we managed to find out where Rajan had gone into hiding. After the palace heist, Rajan fled to the jungle and transformed a long forgotten temple into his base of operations to produce the “Lord’s Malice.” With the jungle being too thick to drive through, it forced us to walk the long distance to our target. And of course, you guessed it - that temple wasn’t only holding just Rajan’s operation, but the Clockwerk heart as well. With the heart pumping so strong and tirelessly it could increase production ten-fold. It’ll stop soon, however, because tonight it comes home with us. 

From the moment the Cooper Gang entered the jungle the air changed. It was damp and humid; the first sign of that being the sight of Alice’s hair growing three sizes. Vines stretched from cliff to cliff, tree to tree, creating a blanket in the sky to cover the jungle floor. The whole area looked like it was long forgotten; buildings and structures surrounding the temple crumbling to the ground. 

Bentley; the ever loving genius he is, sent Sly and Alice out right away. Sly found himself walking the trail behind a waterfall. The water poured down in large portions, slamming into the lake below and spraying him. A large pipe jetted out from the mountain like a sore thumb. He looked at the entrance curiously. 

“Bentley, you there?” Sly asked over the binocucom channel.

“Always. You’re clear to start your approach through that pipe into the production room.” Bentley assured him, telling Sly he was in the right place. 

“Be careful though, if you get hurt the nearest hospital is 200 miles away.” Alice chimed in, making Sly roll his eyes at the comment. 

“Don’t you have some trees to climb?”

“Way ahead of you, brother.” Alice said, causing Sly to search the trees above him. In the distance was Alice, standing on a few branches to keep her balance. Sly shook his head and smiled slightly, ducking into the pipe next to him. “I already found some of the spice Rajan uses, Bentley. That array will be in shambles in no time.”

“Good news too, it’ll dwindle Rajan’s supply so he has to go deeper in the jungle to find more and produce more Lord’s Malice.”

“Sounds great to me.” Alice said, watching as Sly disappeared into the pipe. She then looked down at the tree’s husk and picked the spice plant, marking two down. Two more and that elephant will yank himself from that array.

A vine stretched from her tree to the next one over. Alice unlatched her baton from her back and bent into a hook shape, sliding across the vine. Both feet hit a branch on the tree and Alice gained her balance. 

Once she completed her task Alice used a loose vine to slide to the jungle floor. With how rich the jungle was with greenery, it certainly gave her an advantage with getting around the area. She ran back to the satellite array and stuffed the plants into the elephant’s food. 

As Alice traveled back up to the safe house she heard a loud roar from behind her, followed by a crash. The elephant had finally taken a bite of their food and the array was broken apart. Alice smiled. She then entered the safe house. 

“I’d almost feel bad,” Alice said, taking a seat next to Bentley and Murray. “But I’m sure that elephant is thankful to be free.”

“If I had to walk in circles I’d go crazy,” Murray said, looking between his friends who nodded in agreement.

“Sly sent over the recon photos,” Bentley started, turning his computer. On his screen was a photo of Rajan, a photo of a control station, and a photo of a medieval looking entryway. “We’re in for a difficult one. I can’t even identify how to get to that entrance.” 

“Wait, that staff-“ Alice said, intrigued by the photo of Rajan. “That’s a thing of legend. They call it Vajra. ”

Bentley nodded, confirming what Alice said. “It was wielded by Indra, the god of rain. Stories say it summons lightning, and with the Clockwork Heart, its power doubles.” 

“He has the weapon of a god?” Murray asked, unbelieving. “You’d only hear that type of stuff in stories, but here?”

“Who knows if it works. We just have to prepare for the possibility that it does.” Bentley said, looking back up at Alice. “Superstitions aside, it’ll be good to have an ear on the inside. We will need to bug Rajan’s office.”

“Okay, easy. Where should I put the bug?” Alice asked.

“Well, you see…” Bentley said, pulling up a picture and turning it to Alice. “You’ll be using an actual bug.”

The picture was of a large beetle sitting in a pond. Alice furrowed her eyebrow, confused. “Um… how?”

“When this bug rubs its wings together, it transmits sound. This device,” Bentley said, pulling out a small looking meter that was connected to his computer. “Picks up the sound and allows me to hear it.”

Alice blinked slowly. “Of course it does.”

Bentley shrugged. “Medieval, sure. But keeps us under the radar. Be careful getting the bug to his office. It likes water, and if it goes too long without it will start making noise as a defense mechanism.”

“Sometimes I question your sanity.”

“Every genius has their sanity questioned.” Bentley said, rolling his eyes. “The location of the bug is already marked on your binocucom.” Alice smiled at the comment, directing her concentration back to the task at hand. With a final nod she left Bentley and Murray and went back into the jungle. 

Sly exited the pipe back into the jungle the same way he came in. He studied the photos he took carefully, taking mental note of everything he observed in the spice room. Frustratingly enough Bentley was right, as always. There was no way for them to get at the Clockwerk Heart from the entrance he used. They had to find out how to get through that secret entrance. 

Sly pocketed the photos, and made his way across the jungle floor. Patrols had picked up by now which made his journey back to the safehouse more difficult. The way back Sly made a couple realizations:

The last few weeks he could only think about Clockwerk. The old bird was consuming every thought, every action Sly took and he hated it. He was stuck in tunnel vision. Nothing mattered more to him than collecting the Clockwerk parts and putting and end to it once and for all. Yet, despite his determination, he felt unease with every move he made.

Now, his most scary realization: The Klaww Gang was gradually becoming bigger than he thought it was. Part of him was growing concerned for the safety of Alice and his friends. The fear threatened to paralyze him until there was nothing left. Everyone was here because of him- 

Sly shook his head, focusing back on watching the guard in front of him. The big rhino was looking off into the jungle like he was looking for something. Then, as if he read Sly’s mind, the rhino walked back toward the bridge away from him. Sly took the opportunity to swiftly make it up to the safehouse. 

“Any trouble?” Bentley asked as Sly walked in, shaking his head. “Good. I’ve been looking at those photos, and-“

“That secret entrance.” Sly said, finishing his friend’s thought. Bentley nodded. 

“This will take a lot longer than necessary if we don’t find that door.” Bentley said, studying the photos before him. “Good news is that those controls are easy to use.”

“What’s next?” 

“Well,” Bentley said, standing up and grabbing his hat from the table. “Time for Rajan and I to get close and personal.”

Sly raised an eyebrow. “Meaning?”

“I’ll call you. He should be heading out on his rounds soon, I need to catch him.” Bentley said, quickly heading out the door. Sly looked to Murray, who sat watching the two speak. 

“Hopefully Rajan doesn’t turn him into a turtle sandwich,” Murray commented, looking slightly concerned for his friend. “Rajan’s like, twice his size.”

“It’s Bentley, I’m sure he has a plan for that.” Sly said, reassuring his friend. “I just wish he could pump him full of sleep darts so we could all go home. I’m tired of thinking about Clockwerk.”

“I guess you’re right, Sly.” Murray said, his optimistic self shining through again. “It’ll all be over soon.” 

———-

Alice squinted over the temple grounds, eyeing the entrance to Rajan’s office. It was only a few feet away from her now. The bug sat in a pond not far from her, taking in the water and soothing it. For the moment the way to the office was clear; so it was now or never. 

The entrance was hidden behind a large rock, and stretched through a narrow cave into a back room. Alice entered the office carefully and hesitantly, half expecting the tiger to jump up from behind the desk. His desk chair looked lavish and expensive, like a throne to a fortune he lost. The desk was covered from edge to edge with papers. A small pond sat in the corner, surrounded by a few plants. Alice carefully removed the bug from her shoulders and sat it down in the pond.

Out of curiosity, Alice looked over the notes on Rajan’s desk. What laid before her was details of his spice shipments: including weights and locations. From what she could see so far a lot of spice was sent into Paris. Then it clicked. 

“No way,” Alice mumbled, moving some papers to read more. “Could it?” 

Alice’s eyes widened at the information before her. There, in her hands, was a performance report of Dimitri’s night club. A million different ideas ran through Alice’s head as to why Rajan would have that information thousands of miles away from Paris. She shook them off, however, and instead took photos of the evidence. 

Alice left the office feeling heavy with new information. The world started to feel smaller as she breathed, threatening to send her into a panic. What she just saw in that office could mean a dozen bad problems for the Gang and the rest of the world. It could send everything into chaos-

“We meet again, Cooper.” Alice jumped. She turned around to see Constable Neyla behind her, studying her carefully. “Did I scare you?”

“No, it’s fine. Thanks for not exposing us to the ball.” Alice said, her anxiety disappearing. She found it a little surprising to find Neyla here, in the middle of the jungle.

“I should be thanking you. Carmelita was furious.” she said, a sly grin on her face. 

“She always is.” Alice said, smiling now too. “What brings you here?”

“Well, there’s this secret entrance that I legally cannot enter…”

“But a thief like me?” Alice said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Bingo.” Neyla said, turning and nodding for Alice to follow. The two ran throughout the temple grounds, catching some of the guards' attention. The vinery and agriculture was tough to make it through. 

The two ran across a broken bridge, jumping from piece to piece. Neyla led Alice through an archway and pointed to a crevice in the wall.

“There,” she said.

“Thank you, again.” Alice said sincerely, trusting the tiger’s word. “Maybe when this is all over we’ll meet again.”

Neyla smiled. “I’ll count on it.”

Neyla turned to leave, Alice watching as she ran off. Alice ducked inside the secret entrance and found herself in the spice room. The Clockwerk Heart laid suspended above the room, connected to wires that kept pumps running. A couple rhinos stood guarding the treasure. With her heart beating fast Alice dialed the hideout binocucom as she hid next to the control panel. 

“Al?” Sly’s voice rang through, catching Alice off guard slightly. 

“Where’s Bentley?” 

“He’s out right now. What’s going on?” 

“I found that secret entrance. Well, Neyla showed- listen,” Alice said, gathering her thoughts. “This control panel is locked up tight. Any ideas?” 

“Well, from my experience, nearby guards tend to have the keys just in case.” Sly said. “Which I find a little stupid. Makes our job easier.”

“We count on stupidity, brother.” Alice said, peeking over the top of the panel. “I’ll make quick work. Then we will have half of the heart.”

As Alice hung up her eyes narrowed, watching the two guards that stood not far from the platform. Those rhinos were huge; it wouldn’t be good if she was seen, Sly could attest to that from his run in with them back in India. Then an idea went off in her head:

“Oh, I’m a genius.” she said, reaching into the pouch strapped to her belt. She fished out two sleep darts and smiled. Bentley never minded her dipping into his supply; in fact, he usually counted on it. The turtle was resourceful and wanted to make sure his friends were covered out in the field. Alice took out her slingshot as well, loaded up one dart, and aimed one at a guard.

The dart hit the rhino square in the forehead, bursting on impact and dust filling the air. The guard collapsed with a loud thud. The rhino behind him turned confused, surprised to see his counterpart on the ground. Before he could process it another dart hit him and knocked him out.

“Perfect,” Alice mumbled, standing up and walking onto the platform. She then searched the back pockets of both rhinos and found the keys. Quickly, she went back to the control panel and unlocked the switches. She then threw the release lever. 

Machines powered down and the Clockwerk heart was released from the wires, falling to the ground. Its impact sent vibrations through the floor. The heart still beat tirelessly from its spot on the ground like a never ending reminder. As Alice watched the heart pump she felt triumphant; they were a step closer to ending Clockwerk once and for all, each day seeming easier than the next. 

Chapter Text

“That isn’t good.” 

Bentley looked over the photos Alice took in Rajan’s office with grim eyes. Sly and Murray studied the turtle expectedly, waiting for his conclusion on what Alice had found. It was midday by now; however it was hard to tell, with the abundance of lush foliage that sheltered the jungle from the sky. Small rays of sunlight still peeked through the middle of the tall trees and through the window of the hideout. 

“Whaddya think, Bentley?” Murray asked, looking at his friend with curiosity. 

“It seems Dimitri has fed all of Paris Lord’s Malice.” Bentley said, causing Sly and Murray to part their lips in surprise at the news, uncertain whether to panic yet. 

“But why?” Sly asked Bentley, tilting his head in confusion at the thought. “What would be the point?”

“What fueled Clockwerk?” Alice asked her brother, causing everyone to start thinking. “All those years, what was the one thing that kept him going?”

“Hate.” Sly said easily, as a moment of realization dawned on him. “You don’t think the Klaww Gang is planning on rebuilding him, are you?” 

“Can they even do that?” Murray asked now. “We destroyed him in Russia.”

“We disassembled him, at most. But the right thing to wake him up…” Bentley said, drawing out his words. Sly gave his sister a nervous glance, seeing her return it at the thought of their lifelong enemy coming back. Bentley picked up the look. “There isn’t much we can do about it. Not yet.”

“We know.” Alice said, keeping her gaze on her brother for a moment. She looked at Bentley. “What can we do now?”

“Well… I’m afraid I have some good and bad news.”

“If it’s just as bad as Clockwerk coming back-“ 

“It seems my invasion of Rajan’s personal space drove him into hiding.” Bentley continued. “Our little friend in his office overheard a conversation between Rajan and one of his men about a snake in the grass. Whatever that means.”

“What’s the good news?” Sly asked Bentley, taking off his hat and tossing it on the table.

“We know everything about his spice operation,” he said, watching as Sly crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back. “We have half of the heart, but in order to get the other half we need to drive him out into the open. So I recommend making him angry.”

“I’m guessing you already have a plan for that?” Alice inquired, knowing her friend too well. Bentley smiled and nodded. 

“The four of us will be working simultaneously, so we will hit him hard-“ Bentley said, pulling out the blueprints for Rajan’s spice operation. He pointed to the spice grinder, allowing his friends to peek and watch as he explained. “First, Alice, you’ll destroy his spice grinder. The spice is extremely combustible so be careful. While you do that I’ll be demolishing the dam above the temple to flood him out. I’ve also made arrangements to trade the temple’s ruby for a high explosive to flood the quarry. Sly and Murray will meet with the buyer.” 

“Great, where’s the entrance for the facility?” Alice asked Bentley, looking over the blueprints as well. 

“East of the temple. You’ll be entering through some catacombs.” Bentley explained and Alice nodded. “Once you get there Sly should be able to brief you.”

Bentley and Alice commenced their side of the plan first, leaving Sly and Murray to wait in the hideout for Alice’s call. Sly sat for a moment and stared at the plans before him as Murray found a snack amongst their gear. His mind felt cloudy. Each thought that threatened to push its way to the front of his brain was overshadowed with one about the Clockwerk or Rajan, especially with the newfound information. Feelings or fears did not matter: it wasn’t just him or his family at stake anymore, it was the whole city.

“Whatchya thinkin’ about, pal?”

Sly snapped his head up from the table, looking at Murray. His hippo friend managed to find a bag of potato chips. His mouth was littered with crumbs which almost made Sly crack a smile. “Nothing much, Murray.”

Murray blinked and shook his head, deciding not to pry any further. He then took a seat next to his friend just as the binocucom started to ring through Bentley’s computer.

“Looks like you’re near the facility, Al.” Sly said, a small ping from the computer telling him his voice was going through.

“I’m a little stuck. They got these laser fences down here…” Alice said, contemplating. Her eyes scanned the area, landing on a pile of explosives that sat not far from her. “There’s some TNT here.”

“They must have used them to create those catacombs.” Sly said, a little hesitant. “Think you can handle using it on those fences?”

Alice rolled her eyes, a slight pang in her chest at the comment. “Sure, if you can trust I won’t blow myself up in the process.”

“Really, Al?” Sly sighed, shaking his head at the unintentional comment. 

“That’s what you were thinking, right? Usually it’s something close.” She argued back.

“Oh, so you know all my thoughts now?” Sly spat back, growing increasingly irritated at his sister’s ignorance. “You just need to stop thinking you’re invincible-”

“You know what? I can take it from here, your help has been very insightful. We’ll talk when I get back.” The call hung up with a beep, leaving Sly to pinch his nose in annoyance as Murray looked at Sly awkwardly.

“You guys sure have been arguing a lot.” Murray said, setting down his bag of chips and looking at Sly.

“There’s more important things to worry about Murray, I don’t think she understands that.” 

“I think she does.” The hippo shrugged. “I just think she worries about it differently.”

Sly stopped, thinking about what his friend said. He may have a point. Still, there was no time to dwell - it was time for them to start their part of the plan.

“We should probably get going, Murr.” Sly said, turning just as Murray’s ears drooped in disappointment. It was no secret to Bentley or Murray how their friends had been handling the news of Clockwerk coming back; and no one needed to explain what kind of feelings it brought up for the two. What was disappointing was watching as the two shut each other out because of it. Sly and Murray left out the safehouse door and headed for the temple.

Bentley approached the truck apprehensively, eyeing the helicopter that sat on the bed of the truck with a smile. From monitoring the bug in the office Bentley knew that Rajan had ordered extra defense. He just did not think it would be an attack helicopter. The turtle checked his surroundings to make sure he had not been noticed by any of Rajan’s men, then started to unstrap the chopper from the vehicle. 

“Let’s see,” Bentley said, climbing into the pilot’s seat and inspecting the controls. Then he saw the keys sitting right on the dash. “Did he really leave the keys in here? I swear-”

The turtle shook his head in disbelief; unbelieving but thankful their job got so much easier. Bentley inserted the keys and flipped a switch, causing the helicopter blades to whirl to life. His stomach churned as the helicopter lifted from the ground as he looked for the turret controls. It all looked easy enough; awfully similar to turret back in Istanbul. As Bentley gained altitude he centered himself in front of the dam and fired away.

The area shook as the water leaked, threatening to burst. Bentley chipped away at the dam slowly. Just when he thought he was about to break it apart with no issue he caught sight of something on the horizon-

“All forces, defend the temple dam!” Rajan’s voice bellowed over an intercom, catching Bentley by surprise. “A barrelful of malice to the ship that brings him down!”

“At least it’s working to an extent.” Bentley mumbled, starting to focus some of his shots at the enemy ships. He dared to inch the chopper closer to the dam and started to create a bigger leak. The turtle fired another shot in the direction of an enemy ship, managing to hit it fatally. 

The ship fell to the jungle floor in a billow of smoke. Then with one loud crash the damn cracked, large pieces of rock and water flowing down the temple grounds like a waterfall. A large chunk of rock hurtled in the direction of Bentley, striking the chopper he was in.

“No, no, NO!” the turtle shouted, frantically grabbing the controls as an attempt to straighten out his landing. The helicopter hit a ruined tower with a thud, skidding to a stop as the blades slowed down. As Bentley caught his breath he inspected the controls, finding it still operational. 

Bentley crawled out from the pilot seat, stretching as he felt his joints pop. The crash stressed his body out, but it was over. He put a finger to his earpiece, and called the binocucom channel. 

“I heard the crash, B. How’d it go?” Alice’s voice rang through the channel. 

“Don’t think it had the effect we wanted. We may have to use the bigger explosive. Any update on Sly and Murray?” Bentley asked, looking over the temple grounds as water flooded the area.

“Besides the fact that my brother is a condescending jerk, they should be meeting with the buyer now.”

Bentley blinked slowly, then rolled his eyes at the comment. “Sounds like I missed something.”

“Doesn’t matter. I’m waiting for them now. Once they’re back, we can finally strike.” Bentley then hung up the call and started to look for a way down the tower.

Sly peeked around the corner as Murray followed shortly behind him; coming up on the second rendezvous point. The first buyer seemed satisfied and excited to purchase the ruby so the two held high hopes. Sly motioned for Murray to follow him, and the two stopped at the cliffside to wait for the second buyer. With a large grunt Murray carefully sat down the ruby. 

A figure jumped down from above; almost looking like he appeared out of thin air. Surprised, the two watched as the man before them inspected the ruby and looked up.

“The Cooper Gang certainly lives up to their reputation.” the man said with a thick Malayalian accent. “This is an Indian treasure. We will honor the bargain and provide the explosive at the time the turtle requested.” 

“Thank you for your business.” Sly said, receiving a nod from the man as picked up the ruby and rested it on his shoulder. Sly then turned to Murray. “Alice and Bentley should be back by now. The water has been flooding the temple… But it doesn’t seem like Rajan decided to make an appearance.”

“Hopefully the bomb does the job so we can get the other half of the heart and get the heck outta here.” Murray said in agreement as the two friends walked back to the hideout.

Chapter Text

November 22nd, 1989

Conner Cooper sat on the steps of the Ligurian Museum in Italy, watching as a young Alice and Sly chased each other up and down the steps. He couldn’t help but smile at the two and the innocence they held. Things have been tense the last few weeks; with the ability of pulling heists becoming more difficult, it led to the ultimate falling out with Dr M. The wound of losing a friend still was fresh for Conner. However, he knew that better things were yet to come. First, he had to worry about his children’s future. 

“Well aren’t ya a sight for sore eyes,” Jim McSweeny said, a cheeky toothy grin on the walrus’ face. Alice and Sly’s face lit up at the sight of the family friend, immediately running up and hugging him. McSweeny picked the two up in his arms as Conner approached. 

“Hey Jim, thanks for coming.” Conner said, as McSweeny gave a subtle nod. “Come on kids, let’s go inside.”

“What’s a museum?” Sly asked curiously, his voice squeaking slightly as he looked at his father.

“It’s a place of history…” Conner said, thinking of the best way to explain it. “People create, and put it on display in a museum. Sometimes it tells a story.”

“This one’s ‘n art museum,” McSweeny continued, earning some recognition from Alice.

“Like the puzzles?” she asked, reaching up for her father’s hand. 

“Yes Ally, like puzzles.” Conner said, as the four walked inside.

The museum held paintings that stretched wall to wall; occasionally being separated by a statue or vase on display. Traffic was very little, it being a late Monday evening. Upon entry Alice and Sly ran  toward a statue that caught their eye; which gave the two men a moment to talk.

“You say ya brought something of ‘sentimental value?’” McSweeny asked, as Conner reached in his back pocket. He withdrew a piece of parchment but did not open it up. 

“Hide it.” is all he said, looking at his friend with pleading eyes. “Please.”

“Sure thing,” McSweeny said, picking up on his friend’s seriousness. “Does this mean we’re officially done?”

“Dr M wants nothing to do with us,” Conner said, rolling his eyes. “He’s made that clear. Maybe it’s a sign.”

“All he ever wanted was the money.” McSweeny said, shaking his head.

“There’s no honor in that.” Conner said, glancing back at his children who were looking at a painting. The two approached, starting to recognize the one they were staring at.

“Curious ‘bout that one?” McSweeny asked, causing Sly to look over. Conner took a knee next to his kids, eyeing the plaque next to the picture.

“Ah, Goya.” Conner said, inspecting the painting. The piece depicted a small boy between three wide eyed cats and a magpie. Next to him was a cage of finches. The magpie held a small card in its mouth, with the artist's signature. “This one was created in the late 1700s. Goya intended for the choice of animals to show the frail boundaries between… Youth and the forces of evil.”

The siblings looked away from their father, staring back up at the painting in awe. “Wow.”

Present Day.

Alice Cooper kept her eyes trained towards the new waterfall that filled the grotto. Sly was behind her, unloading the new explosive they got for their ruby deal. Turret shots could be heard in the distance as Murray worked to pry open the water gate; which would effectively allow them to flood the temple completely. 

“You ready?” Alice asked finally, turning around to face Sly. He lifted the TNT up with two arms, resting the explosive on his shoulder. He nodded as the two moved forward, keeping eyes on the patrols that surrounded them. 

“Sounds like Bentley and Murray are working on the gate.” Sly commented, attempting at some amount of small talk. Alice shrugged.

“I’m just hoping this works,” she said, leaning against the side of a building as she watched a couple of Rajan’s men pass by. “He’s stubborn. Do we need to blow the temple to pieces with him in it to get him out?”

Sly could not help but let out a small laugh at that. “You may have a point.”

The two came upon the bridge on the lower floor, telling them they were close. The shooting had come to a halt which told them Murray had gotten the gate open. Alice looked south of the grounds as they hit the top of the bridge, which is where she saw dozens of men running up the staircase.

“Time to move, Sly.” she said, motioning for him to run in front of her. She took out her baton and extended it, ready for any man to come her way. 

“You’re clear to plant the bomb!” Murray said as Sly ran up, Alice followed shortly after. As Alice watched the guards approach them an explosion rang out, and the sound of water came rushing towards them. The three ran up to the higher levels of the temple and watched as the guards that were coming for them were washed away. 

“My spice temple, ruined!” Rajan bellowed out, causing Sly, Alice and Murray to look up towards the peak of the temple. So the tiger finally shows himself. “I will no longer hide from you villains as you destroy my empire! Indra, give me strength, let Vajra be taken by Clockwerk’s black heart! Come, face me Coopers!” Rajan let out a growl, echoing over the temple grounds.

“Well, we did it.” Alice said, watching as Rajan threw his tantrum. “We made him angry.”

“You did indeed.” Neyla said from behind the three, having seen everything transpire herself. 

“Good evening, Constable. Slumming it with the thieves again?” Sly asked, giving the woman a questioning look. 

“That man created a chemical weapon, ” she said, narrowing her eyes at Sly. “He should be brought to justice.”

“All we want is the Clockwerk part. Help me take him down and he’s all yours.” Alice said, catching everyone’s eye. 

“Keep up, then.” 

Sly and Murray watched as the two climbed up after Rajan, lightning filling the area. Bentley was right; the power of that staff was the power of a god. And with the Clockwerk heart it’s impact had doubled. Alice and Neyla ran after Rajan, hurtling over each obstacle that was brought down with the destruction. It provided a nice bridge, allowing the two an excellent means to reaching the spice lord. 

“Neyla, now!” Alice yelled as she climbed up, only to find things were not as they seemed.

“Sorry.”

Lightning struck. The sky lit up and the world was sent into slow motion. Every nerve in Alice’s body seized up as she flew through the air, every inch of her body burning. Sly yelled as Murray ran forward and attempted to catch his friend. The two jumped down into the drained pond, running to where Alice landed, unconscious. Sly ran up to where his sister laid, Murray watching the two with concern.

“Al, please!” Sly begged, panic filling his voice as he shook her shoulders, desperately trying to wake her. She looked pale, her lips parted ever so slightly to allow air to escape her lungs. Her right shoulder was singed, her clothing ripped and tattered from the strike. Sly looked up with anger, looking for any glimpse of Neyla, ready to take her on himself.

“This is the famous Cooper Gang I heard so much about?” Rajan taunted from above, jumping down with splash into the pond they were in. “The one I feared these long hours?”

“The Murray will now renew your fear.” Murray said, taking a step in front of his friends. Sly looked back at his sister, afraid of whatever was happening to her at that moment. 

“Who’s the Murray? All I see is a fat, pathetic, weakling.” 

“I may not be as smart as the other guys, but one thing I am not is weak!” Murray roared, running forward and striking Rajan. Sly sat and watched, looking between the walls and to the fight that took place before him. There was no way out; the walls were too tall to climb.All they could do is wait and hope Bentley could get them out. There’s nothing he could do for Alice either; and that’s one of the reasons why he felt so hopeless in that moment. 

I wish it was me. He thought, guilt filling his chest. She would know what to do. Jesus, I should have listened to mom more. 

Slowly, Alice’s eyes started to open, but not a hint of recognition could be seen in them. Her ears were ringing as she focused her vision, squinting at Sly as he attempted to get her to speak. He was so close yet so far away; his voice only coming in an echo.

“Al, can you hear me? Please tell me you can hear me…” he pleaded, his arm securely around her shoulders to keep her in his arms. With one final blow Murray knocked Rajan to the ground, leaving him unmoving and unconscious. 

“Oh, what a happy day!” Neyla said from above, grinning down at the four trapped. Sly looked up at where Neyla stood with immense fury. He could feel the anger build in him until all he could think about was causing her more pain then she had just caused his sister. That time was cut short, however, when the three of them started to get swarmed by policemen. Then he remembered: Bentley wasn’t there. He was still with the helicopter. He was their only hope. 

“Neyla! Throw down a ladder, Alice is hurt real bad-“

“She’s no friend of ours anymore, big guy.” Sly said through gritted teeth, looking back up at her.

“Here they are, Contessa. Just as I promised. The Cooper Gang and Rajan all incapacitated.” 

“Excellent police work, Neyla.” the Contessa said, creeping forward slowly, her legs almost making her float across the floor. Carmelita followed the Warden shortly behind, almost unbelieving at the scene before her. “Carmelita’s never been able to catch the Cooper Gang, yet you manage to infiltrate and capture them in just a few short weeks.”

“Well, I never-“

“Accept your defeat gracefully, Carmelita.” 

“It was quite easy.” Neyla said, an evil smirk on her lips. “Like you said, the weak minded sister provided an easy in. She trusted me right away. And in the process I learned why Carmelita hasn’t captured the Cooper Gang; she’s been in league with them the whole time. ”

“Oh you lying, worthless, piece of-” Carmelita started, rage building in her as she prepared to fight back. 

“Inspector Fox was dancing with Sly Cooper the night the Clockwerk Wings were stolen. I have a photo here-” Neyla said, reaching into her pocket and drawing out the photo. Sure enough, it was them: Carmelita looking like she was having the time of her life. The vixen cursed herself for falling for that trick in the first place. Maybe she wouldn’t be in the position she was now. 

“We were wearing masks, I didn’t know it was him!” Carmelita argued, but could see it was no use. Some of her colleagues were already inching closer to her, preparing to make an arrest. Still, the Contessa and Neyla’s demeanor was rubbing her the wrong way as she watched them speak. The two seemed very nonchalant; like they had everything planned out from the beginning. They knew something. 

“You two look very… Familiar.” the Contessa said, a disapproving look on her face. “Men, place Inspector Fox under arrest.” 

Carmelita looked between the men who started to surround her, already feeling closed in. She disarmed her shock pistol and badge, dropping it to the ground as she looked at Neyla and the Contessa with a dangerous look in her eye. 

“I will get you, Neyla!” the vixen exclaimed. “This is an insult to me, and my father! He’s the reason why most of you are here-”

“Such a shame when an officer falls from the light.” the Contessa said, an evil smile on her lips as she watched Inspector Fox be placed in handcuffs.

Off in the distance, Bentley watched the entire scene unfold. He was watching dumbfounded at the events that just took place. Part of him cursed himself for allowing Neyla’s help in the first place. She was not only playing Alice, but the entire gang all along. His concern started to grow for his friends as he watched Interpol Prison Transport vans arrive, each of them being lifted out of the pool in shackles. 

“That two timing, lying, cockney…” Bentley grumbled, his restlessness coming through in the form of his movements as he let out the biggest shout of his life. “BITCH!” 

Chapter Text

Oh, father tell me

Do we get what we deserve? 

October 30th, 1992.

“You’re getting a lot better at that, Ally.” Conner Cooper said, holding onto the small girl as she sat on his lap and studied the painting. Her eyes were torn from the piece before her when she looked at her father and smiled.

“Thanks.” Alice beamed, looking up at her father with a toothy grin. Conner glanced over at his son with his nose in the Thievius Raccoonus, completely immersed.

“What section are you reading, kiddo?” 

“Rioichi Cooper.” Sly replied, looking up. “He invented the ninja spire jump! I can’t wait to master that one, but all the words he uses are weird.”

“It was a different time back then.” Conner said with a chuckle, delighted at his son’s investment in his family. It looked like all that he was teaching was rubbing off on him; at least to some extent. Lilian Cooper peeked her head out from the kitchen then, holding a bowl of brownie batter as she watched her family. Alice and Sly had been raving about sweets all day; to the point where their mother decided to cut a deal with the two. If the two worked together to finish their chores then she would make them ‘something special.’ The right motivation was given, and the two siblings held up their end.

“What’s the painting, Ally?” her mother inquired, looking down at the two. Conner smiled as Alice moved for her to see. “Ah, the roses.”

“She found the code in under two minutes, Lily.” Conner informed his wife, proud of the progress.

“It sounds like you two definitely earned this,” Lilian said, looking between her children as Sly finally looked up. The two let out gasps of excitement. 

A loud, thundering noise came from outside of the Cooper home, making everyone jump. Conner looked to his wife hesitantly as she sat the bowl she held down on the table. He then slid Alice from his lap, who looked up at her father inquisitively. 

“What was it, dad?” Sly asked, setting down the ancient book and watching as his father leaned over the couch, looking out the window. Conner’s face grayed; as if going pale. His heart rate elevated and his eyes widened as he looked back at his wife. 

“It’s them, Lily.”

“What?” she whispered, as Conner looked to his children with a finger over his lips. His eyes scanned the area, thinking fast. 

“Get in the closet, kids.” 

“What’s going on?” Alice asked quietly, tears welling in her eyes from her parent’s demeanor. Sly and Alice knew something was happening, which made their fears worsen. Conner did not reply but instead herded the two to the living room closet. 

“Sly, watch your sister.” Conner said, watching the two one last time as they sat next to each other. “ Do not open the door until I tell you. No matter what.” He grabbed his cane, then shut the door and left the two in darkness.

Alice reached out for her brother’s hand; who took it and held onto her tight. The two heard a door open. Voices could be heard; but none of them sounded familiar to the two. Then came the arguing. Sly flinched as it sounded like something was thrown across the room, breaking upon impact. The door shook which made his sister flinch. He then decided to open the door slightly. 

“No!” Alice whispered, causing Sly to grab her and cover her ears. He watched through the crack of the door, holding onto his sister and attempting to drown out the noise. 

Present Day

The journey through the jungle was not a pleasant one; Sly, Murray, Alice, and Carmelita trudged through the mud all chained together. Sly and Murray stood silent but defiant, refusing to cooperate with the guards the whole way there. Carmelita was very vocal the whole time. She spent at least half of the way cursing the Contessa and Neyla, swearing she will spend her whole life trying to ruin theirs. Then she spent the other half criticizing the cops holding them. Alice was quiet, still feeling her injuries she took back at the temple. For the first time in her life she was truly afraid. She could not see an easy way out of this. She winced with pain from the position she was in, her right shoulder aching.   

After making it to a criminal transport vehicle at the edge of the jungle, the four spent long hours transferring from vehicle to vehicle until they made it to their destination. The car ride gave them all time to think. Alice couldn’t help but feel guilty for bringing her friends into this; it was her who brought Neyla further into their circle. Maybe Sly was right to always be watching over her like he has. If he did trust her before, she knew there was no way he’d trust her now.

Still, she found him looking over at her with concern. 

“How do you feel?” he whispered to his sister, earning a warning look from Carmelita who glanced up at the guards in the front.

“I can’t feel my shoulder.” Alice replied. “Do you know where they're taking us?” She turned to Carmelita.

“Probably her prison.” she replied. “And she’ll get you the help you need.”

“How do you know?” Sly asked, curious. 

“She didn’t leave her on the floor of that jungle.” Carmelita said, looking grim. “We’re only here because she has use for us. Now quiet before they overhear us.”

The gang sat with those words for a long time, until they finally felt the van stop. The doors were opened to reveal one of the biggest prison compounds they had ever seen. The place looked like anyone’s nightmare, a gothic lockup that would make any criminal run in terror. Sly had never felt more in the dark in his life. Right about now he was wishing he had Bentley by their side, telling them everything they would possibly need to know about the Contessa and this place. But Bentley was their only hope. It was better he was outside. 

The Contessa approached the group, muttering something to one of her guards who promptly turned around and went off to perform his duties. She then turned to the group, her red eyes burning into Alice. 

“Take Sly Cooper and his hippo friend to Cell Block C,” the Contessa said, as the guards immediately started to separate them. “Have them processed and assigned to cells. Await further instruction.” 

Panic flashed in Alice’s eyes as she watched Sly and Murray be pushed away. Sly picked up on this; attempting to fight the guard’s grip on him. Murray could barely move with the amount of chains they put on him, being all too familiar with his strength. 

“It’ll be okay, Alice. We’ll be fine,” Sly called out, just as one guard opened the door to a building and Murray was pushed inside. “We’ll see you soon!”

Alice felt little comfort in that; the hope she had fading each moment. She had never seen Sly so panicked in her life. This is the first time they had ever been separated and left to defend themselves. Still, despite her older brother’s promises, something in Alice told her she would not see Sly or her friends for a long, long time.

—————

It took a sleepless week to find a definite location on my friends. They were locked away in the mysterious towers of Prague, owned by Interpol’s most renowned prison warden, the Contessa. While she was still a psychology student she entered into a romance with a wealthy aristocrat. It was short lived, however, the general “suspiciously” died a few weeks after the ceremony. The widowed Contessa put her education and newly acquired estate to work. She opened a criminal rehabilitation center, where she applied her pioneered use of hypnotherapy and has gotten some good results. My friends were locked up somewhere in that gothic nightmare, in line to receive the Contessa’s form of “treatment.” If I don’t bust them out soon, their minds will be turned to mush, and I'll be out three best friends! 

Bentley entered the foreclosed building stationed not far from the compound, turning on a light as he wheeled his equipment in. His eyes felt heavy. The loneliness and the pressure was setting in, like a constant pinch if he was to fail saving his friends. The turtle sat down, leaning his head back and resting his eyes. 

The room was dusty; likely gone unused for a long time. Tarps covered old furniture except the table in the center of the room. A large window was placed next to the door, allowing the perfect view of the compound. Bentley knew he couldn’t fall asleep yet. There was too much to do. He leaned back forward and took his laptop from his case. 

“The Contessa’s house, huh?” Bentley mumbled, concentrating on the screen before him. He knew that would be as good of a place to start as any. In order to get anything done he had to find the Contessa first, so might as well start where she lives. 

Bentley left his newly acquired base of operations, careful to not catch the attention of the guards patrolling the area. The Contessa ran a tight ship; her guards looked as tough as nails. The birds towered over anyone who came close. The way they walked was hunched over yet agile, looking for any opportunity to find an intruder. It was as if Bentley made it out of the jungle and into a bad dream. 

The gray sky set over Bentley as he made it within view of the Contessa’s home. The gothic shelter displayed steep roof pitches and stately stone facades with intricate details. Just the sight of the house sent a shiver down Bentley’s spine, reminding him of a haunted house in those horror movies Alice loved to watch. 

That’s when he caught sight of the prison walls and the guards that patrolled it; the Contessa was there. It looked like he managed to catch her in the middle of her daily rounds. The arachnid walked with poise and confidence; but from where Bentley stood, it looked like she was mumbling to herself. He needed to hear what she was saying. Then he had an idea. 

He took out his binocucom, loaded a dart in the launcher, and shot it in her direction. It landed directly below her, the sound vibrations amplifying her voice and allowing Bentley to hear it through his binocucom. 

“The blasted Klaww Gang is falling apart. Spice shipments have stopped, making my job harder. At least the Cooper Gang is under lock and key. Their lopsided morality flies into the face of man’s inherent selfishness. Oh well, at least I got one of them under control.”

Those last words sent a pang through Bentley’s body, causing him to worry for his friends even more. He had to hear more. Another dart flew in the Contessa’s direction as she paced.

“The sister… Such fickle insecurity in one place. Yet so much uncracked underneath. So smart and capable… The resentment for her own brother will be an interesting thing to play with but I have to approach this one differently. Routine injections of Rajan’s malice should speed things up. She’s been fighting our sessions. A few more interactions with the Eyes, however…”

Bentley knew she was talking about Alice. Frustratingly, she did not say where she was. His worry only rose more with the thought of what his friend has been enduring this whole time.

“That Cooper Gang. The fat one, what was his name? Ah, Murray… He’ll be the first to break. I can only imagine the wealth that gang has acquired over the years and that small minded hippo knows all about it.”

Still nothing. The Contessa was being smart, not mentioning a thing about where his friends are located. Which only worried Bentley more. Does she know he’s still out there?

“Now, Sly Cooper… Such a complex and rebellious mind. A month or two in “the hole” should break his spirit. Let him squat there, week after week.. He’s smart enough to know that the guards watching him are equipped with motion detectors. There’s truly no escape for him.”

“Oh, is there?” Bentley asked, managing a small grin. This is the first time he’s truly felt accomplished in weeks. Yet the Contessa was still talking. 

“Those fools at Interpol. They keep sending me criminals and I keep making more money! My hypnotism is the perfect thing to make them give up their wealth. If only I had more spice to help me with the hypnotism!”

“Well, that was enlightening.” Bentley said, pocketing his binocucom. “She’s a monster. She’s no health care professional.” 

 A moment of realization hits Bentley, as he puts a hand to his head in resolve. “I’m really talking to myself, am I?”

Chapter Text

You’re flying now, you see things

much more clear than from the ground.

It's all okay, or it would be

were you not now halfway down.

-“The View from Halfway Down” (Bojack Horseman, 2020)

January 22nd, 1993

Alice sat and watched as children played in the distance; their laughter echoing through the backyard of the orphanage. The boys played soccer or kickball while the girls drew on the sidewalk with old broken chalk. The orphanage they landed in after the events in their family home hasn’t been that bad; the administrators have treated them well. Their first couple weeks were the worst. Nightmares plagued their minds at night. If it wasn’t Alice who woke up crying it was Sly, screaming for their parents into the dark void. 

She looked over; noticing the small turtle that sat not far from her. He is new. She thought. The oversized glasses he wore as he read the book in front of him (one that was much bigger then he was, she might add) told her that he was not like most of the boys in the orphanage. She decided to try something. 

“What are you reading?” she asked, inching closer and catching the turtle’s attention. He looked surprised that she was speaking to him. He adjusted his glasses, nervously glancing back to his book.

“Moby Dick.”

She nodded as she remembered hearing the book referenced to her before. “What’s it about?”

“It’s about a captain and his quest of vengeance against the whale that took his leg,” he replied, causing Alice to raise her eyebrows at the description. “It shows how revenge can consume a person.”

“That’s interesting. It’s a big book,” she commented, the turtle nodding in agreement.

“I’ve always been able to read more than others.”

“You must be some sort of genius.” she said, impressed slightly. “What’s your name?”

“Bentley.” the turtle smiled. 

Present Day

Bentley made quick work the moment he made it back to the safe house; the new information lit a fire inside him that was about to burn out. He poured over the blueprints he acquired from the Prague Public Registry and managed to determine the exact location of “The Hole.” Located on the west side of the building, “The Hole” shares a wall with the main prison walls. If only there was a way to punch a hole in the side… 

His first concern was the guards with the motion detectors. An easy enough solution for that one: his RC chopper. Bentley immediately stood up and grabbed his chopper, taking it outside. 

“Don’t give up on me now.” he said, standing outside the safe house as he launched the device. He kept his eyes trained on the controller in hand, watching on the small screen to see where he was going. 

He was within view of the wall now. Guards lined up, pacing back and forth on their assigned routes. Each one unsuspecting of the rain that was about to fall on them all. Bentley pressed a button as he followed the length of the wall, dropping a bomb on each of the guards and knocking them off. 

“Now that’s done.” he said, just as the train that ran through Prague zoomed by. Curiously, he eyed a computer terminal nearby. 

Bentley inspected the track and came to the conclusion he could use the train to his advantage. He ran over to a terminal, powering it up and infiltrating the train’s programming. Once he had full control of the system and the train sped up, Bentley realized he needed more power.

“There has to be more terminals!” he exclaimed out loud to himself, hitting a fist onto the side of the terminal. Bentley decided to walk down the track, and luckily, his theory held.

Three more terminals lined the track; each one speeding up the train as Bentley gained control over the system. Once he finished taking over the last one the train sped by and was launched upwards. He watched as it soared through the air, colliding perfectly with the portion of the wall he needed. 

Satisfied, Bentley went back to the safe house. It was up to Sly now. 

--------

Alice woke up in a daze. She started to regain feeling which told her immediately she was in shackles and strapped to a chair. As her eyes adjusted she could see the room was dim. Cobblestone walls surrounded her, engulfing her and making the room colder. Panic filled her chest as she scanned the room and her memories came back. 

The last thing I remember… she thought, worried. Was Sly struggling to get to Murray and I. Now I’m here. 

“It’s about time you woke up.” a cold and familiar voice bounced off of the walls, chilling her. She did not feel right. She was afraid, but somehow, it felt worse… 

“Who’s there?” she asked, almost in a stutter. The voice laughed. The large, spider-like figure approached out of the darkness, revealing the Contessa in her horrifying glory. Alice never had the chance to see her up close yet. Her dark hair hovered barely above her shoulders, almost string-like. Those red glowing eyes could strike fear into anyone who dared to challenge her. Her wide, evil smile however, is what worried Alice the most.

“You’re still healing from your injuries, so I’ll forgive you for not recognizing me.” the Contessa said, making her way to a terminal on the other side of the room.

“Why would you help me?” Alice questioned, confused. Still she knew the answer to that question is probably more scary than the thought of what would have happened if she did not help her. 

“How about-“ the Contessa said, pausing her movement for a moment as she thought. “I’m going to tell you how this is going to work. This facility is used for the rehabilitation of criminals much like you, your brother, and your dumb little friend. Now, after some convincing… You’ll tell me where the Cooper fortune is hidden.”

“What?” Alice asked, confused at the statement. Cooper fortune? Does she think we have one stashed away? 

Then, with one skinny finger the Contessa pressed a button, and Alice screamed as an electric shock was sent through her body. 

“I know all about your family line.” she said, as the shock stopped and Alice was left to catch her breath. “A family that goes back that far is bound to have hidden their wealth someplace.”

“Being orphans you’d think we missed out on that little secret.” Alice said weakly, as the button was pressed again. She screamed again, louder. The pain. The shock stopped. Alice hung her head low, weak. What was this feeling in her? Her entire body shook. Her shoulder had a stinging, ringing pain.

“Don’t worry,” the Contessa said, pressing another button. A loud whirring started as something creaked towards her. “I’m sure you’re familiar with these.”

Alice looked up and terror filled her body. Before her were those familiar glowing eyes, staring into her and filling her. She could feel herself be pulled into a trance, staring directly into the Clockwerk Eyes. 

———

Sly Cooper opened up the door to the hole, legs aching from crouching there for so long. To his surprise, the loud crash came from the train that now sat impaled into the wall. Now, there was a hole for him to escape through. 

He thought fast and activated the earpiece to see it would work. The moment he entered the prison he could tell the frequency was blocked, cutting off communication from the outside world. Good thing the idiots never checked for it. Sly thought, as the ringing went off in his ear. He then made his way to the train and slipped his way through to a familiar world.

Bentley’s eyes snapped open, body jolting up from the chair below him. He must have fallen asleep. The loud ringing was what signaled him, eyes almost disbelieving the binocucom call that was blowing up his computer screen.  

“Sly, you there?” Bentley’s voice came through, sounding hopeful. Sly couldn’t help but smile at the sound of his friend's voice.

“Oh how I’ve missed that sensuous voice of yours.” 

“Save the comments for when you get back to the safe house. I’ve already uploaded the coordinates to your binocucom.” Bentley said, his voice bringing comfort back to Sly that he had almost forgotten. 

“Wow, you have really thought of everything.” Sly said, looking over the city that surrounded the prison.

“Don’t I always?”

“Yeah, you do… Thanks for busting me out.” Sly said as he started to make his way down from the high ledge he stood on. 

“Yeah, well, you know the old saying “if you can’t count on a friend to bust you out of jail, what kind of friend are they?”” 

“Truer words have never been said… Wizard.” Sly said jokingly. “I’ll see you soon, pal.”

Sly made it back to the hideout with ease, using the newfound freedom to stretch in ways he has not been able to. Still, he couldn’t help but worry. The guards never talked much around him so he had not heard a word on Murray or Alice. Dread ate at him every moment he was in the cursed city. He would give anything to leave, but they have work to do. 

Seeing Bentley for the first time after the month he had been the Contessa’s prisoner was a bittersweet moment. Having his best friend back was one of the things he was wishing for, and he was forever in debt to the wise turtle. He has done so much for him in just the last few weeks. There was so much to say, to thank him for. Yet when he opened the door to the hideout and saw him, the two were speechless. So Sly decided to start.

“I cannot thank you enough.” he said sincerely, Bentley giving a small smile and a shrug at the comment. 

“Don’t mention it.” he told him. “We have a lot of work to do. You were the first person I managed to locate. I’m just glad to not be alone anymore.”

“Anything you need me to do?” Sly asked as Bentley shrugged. 

“I’m still working on getting a location on Murray. What could be useful,” Bentley thought, looking over to Sly. “Getting a sample of her encryption algorithm so I can crack it.”

Sly’s face went blank. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Don’t worry about it for the moment. I need to try to crack the encryption before I even think about touching her security systems.” Bentley said, turning back to his computer as he pulled up a few photos. “Across the outside of the prison are a few guarded security stations. Obtain their keys, set off the alarm, and the guard will input a code that flashes on the screen to turn it off. Take a picture of it.”

“Okay, I trust you.” Sly said to him, turning to leave. 

“Sly…” Bentley stopped, turning to look at Sly just before he opened the door. “What… What was it like?”

He stopped, thinking. “Well, I…” he stuttered out. “It was dark… And you had this feeling, like everything was hopeless.” 

“I have to ask, you didn’t hear anything while you were inside?”

Sly shook his head. “No. The last time I saw Murray and Alice was when we first arrived. They separated us all immediately.” he said solemnly, guilt rising in his chest. “The look on their faces, Bentley…”

Sly’s voice cracked as he let some of the reality of the situation hit him. The two friends let their sadness wash over them but they knew it could not affect them.

“We’ll find them, Sly. If the Contessa was smart, they separated the three of you to the far corners of the prison.” Bentley concluded, eyeing the blueprints before him. “Based on your location, I have a hunch.”

Sly nodded, his anxiety subsiding slightly. “I should head out. Thank you, Bentley. Truly.”

Chapter Text

Cause cruelty 

Wins in the movies 

I’ve got a hundred thrown out speeches I almost said to you 

February 1st, 1993 

Sly awoke restless; another nightmare keeping him up that night. Residents of the orphanage slept soundly all down the hallway, along with his current roommate. The administrator had strict rules about leaving your bedroom at night but Sly did not care at that moment. As an attempt to find solitude, the young raccoon snuck down the hallway and into the kitchen.

Now approaching the kitchen Sly could already see a light was on down the hallway. A light rustling could be heard from the same direction as if someone awoke for a late night snack. He could feel his anxiety rise as he made his way down the hallway.

Once he turned the corner he was surprised at what he saw in the kitchen. 

A large, pink hippo stood in front of the fridge, rummaging through the shelves for any loose snacks. Sly managed to crack a small smile at the sight. The hippo turned around, jumping at the sight of the small raccoon who was watching him. 

“Hi.” Sly said, filling the silence. The hippo finished chewing the snack he had, seeming relieved. 

“I thought you were Ms Puffin,” he said, turning around slightly to grab a cheese stick from the fridge. He then closed it, turning to the raccoon. “I’m Murray.”

“Sly.” 

“Did you come here for a snack?” he asked, exposing a toothy grin. 

“I couldn’t sleep.” he said, walking up and taking a seat at the counter. 

“Oh okay, diddya want a snack?” Murray asked him, as he shook his head. 

“No, I’m okay. Thank you though.”

Murray quieted slightly, looking away shamefully. “Ya know, I’ve heard you at night.” 

Sly’s ears drooped. “Oh.”

“You can join me in the kitchen anytime you want to,” he said, giving Sly a smile. “Ms Puffin is a heavy sleeper. I’ve been doing it for weeks!”

Present Day 

Sly sat on a roof across from the guard station, watching as a large vulture stood watch. This wasn’t the first time he’s seen these goons; they were the main wardens of the prison, saved for tougher higher security jobs. He knew he had to be really careful this time around. The Contessa proved that the Cooper Gang wasn’t as invincible as they once thought. 

After spending a month and a half in that stone box Sly learned to have a higher appreciation for things like freedom. Being able to stretch his legs was a gift. Having his freedom back felt a lot different then last time, knowing now that it could be taken away just as easily. The world seemed different then it did before they arrived in Prague. Sly’s greatest fears felt like they were coming true; and he couldn’t help but feel like he would burst at the seams. 

Sly pushed himself off from the roof, flying down to the street below not far from the guard. He had to stick to the shadows if he was going to do this right. Sly pressed his body to the wall to blend in, eventually able to find himself behind the vulture. 

Using his cane he managed to get the key ring off the sentry’s belt. Sly then walked over to the security system, and set it off one final time.

“Great Sly, that should be the last one.” Bentley said through the binocucom, bringing him a small amount of comfort. The more he accomplished the closer they were to having Alice and Murray back. Sly took the last picture.

“What’s next, pal?”

“Well, it turns out Murray is doing time in Cell block D.” Bentley informed Sly. “As for Alice, I’m unsure. The Contessa seems to be keeping her hidden well.”

The second part of the news sent a feeling of dread through Sly’s chest, making him shake his head with a sigh. “How do I get to Cell Block D?”

“If you go under the bridge you should be able to shimmy up an air vent. You won’t be able to get fully inside, but you’ll be able to get Murray’s attention.” Bentley explained. “You’ll need to convince him to get thrown in solitary. There’s a weakness in that cell.” 

“Sure pal.”

Sly eyed the area, spotting the bridge in the distance. It was near the Contessa’s home, allowing the perfect separation between her and the guard huts scattered outside of the prison. This is the most Sly had managed to see of Prague since he arrived. The gray sky drew darker now; telling Sly that it was going into the late evening. He needed to move quickly.

The air vent to the prison wasn’t the first Sly has snuck through. One thing about using an air vent to sneak into a place; you’ll always end up coming out in cobwebs and dirt. He could feel the grime build on his clothing as he made his way to the light at the end of the vent.

The cell he was peeking into looked exactly like the ones that were in his cell block (before he was thrown into the Hole, of course.) The brick walls stood tall to encourage the feeling of being trapped with no escape. Cell Block D was a lot quieter then it normally was as the evening came to an end. Then he saw pink.

“Murray?” Sly whispered hopefully, attempting to get a better look from his angle. Sure enough, it was his hippo friend he stumbled upon. Sly could feel the joy build in his chest as he saw his friend for the first time in a month. 

“Sly!” Murray exclaimed, happy to see a familiar face. “You guys have got to get me out of here. What they’ve been feeding me… I’ve been feeling strange.”

Sly couldn’t help but feel helpless at the sight of his friend behind bars; something he never thought he would have to see. He couldn’t help but feel guilty that everyone was in the position they were in because of him, or his family. From the beginning, Bentley and Murray decided to follow Sly and his sister out of the orphanage to face the world together. No one thought it would get this intense. 

“You got it. Get into a big enough fight and get yourself thrown in solitary, it seems Bentley found a weakness in the cell.” Sly explained, earning a confused look from Murray. “Have you seen Alice?”

Murray shrugged. “She was in the same block as me for the first week. I haven’t seen her or Carmelita since.”

Sly’s anxiety grew. What was the witch doing with them?

“Thanks, Murr.” Sly said to him. “Get your part done, and we will have you out in no time.”

Murray nodded, turning away from the vent to wreak havoc. As Sly went back the same way he came he heard commotion coming from the cell block. Murray was doing his side of the job well. Despite the fact that seeing Murray was a grim reminder of what they’re up against; it managed to cheer Sly up slightly. The only thing to make it better was to hear news of Alice. 

It was pitch black outside now; the only thing illuminating the street being the lamps that lined the walkways and the flashlights from the night patrol. This gave Sly the opportunity to head back undetected, stuck with the same helpless feeling he had upon seeing his friend behind bars. 

Chapter Text

January 4th, 1999

“Stand still, Shy-“ 

“Ally it hurts-“ Sly said, cutting himself off by wincing in pain. 

“That’s how you know it’s working. Now, pinch your nose and tilt your head back-“ she instructed as Sly did so. Alice could feel the anger radiating off of her older brother as she stuck a tissue to his nose, allowing him to hold it now. 

“You shouldn’t have hit him.” Alice said firmly, which earned a small scoff from her brother.

“He broke Bentley’s glasses.” 

“Was this your attempt at evening the score, then?” Alice asked, crossing her arms and leaning against the wall behind her. “Remember what mom said? He who learns to walk away lives to fight another day.”

“Bentley’s been good to us, Ally.” Sly said, leaning his head forward. “Murray and Bentley are basically family now.”

“This isn’t about brotherhood, Sly. There’s an expectation of us until we’re able to leave,” Alice warned. “Ms. Puffin is close to transferring us. She has every means to separate us-“ The thought made her anxiety rise; there was no way she wanted that to happen. If they were separated she would have no one left.

“Then we should leave.” 

Alice paused, blinking slowly at the proposition. The idea scared her yet excited her. Leaving the orphanage would not only protect them but give them a new sense of freedom. No one was interested in adopting any of them; the past few years have shown them that. So leaving seemed like the best idea Sly has had all week. 

“Let’s do it.” 

Present Day.

“We have some good news,” Bentley said to Sly as he walked in, the night sky engulfing Prague. Bentley watched as Sly sat down next to him, taking note of the gloom that surrounded his friend. “It’s promising, at least. Alice and Carmelita were last processed into solitary.”

“How do you know?”

“That encryption algorithm helped,” Bentley said, shrugging. “Getting past her security and into her files has been enlightening. The Contessa has been… Experimenting.”

Sly narrowed his eyes at Bentley, noticing that his friend was holding something back. It had to be bad. He wouldn’t look so unsure if it wasn’t. Or maybe he was afraid to tell Sly, his sister-

“I can handle it, Bentley.” Sly assured him, as his friend took a breath.

“She’s been developing this new technique she dubbed ‘ The Walking Nightmare…’” he explained hesitantly. “Reading through her notes was a bit horrifying, I’ll be honest. You see, large doses of the Lord’s Malice heightens the amygdala to levels far beyond we can handle, sending you into a dream state…”

As Bentley talked Sly started to feel queasy. His face grayed as he thought of what could be going on inside that prison. Sly could feel his heart rate rise as a familiar cloud settled over his thoughts, tuning Bentley out. All he could hear was a slight ringing, getting louder as his friend’s voice became an echo. Then, all at once, it all stopped; and Sly fell back to Earth.

“What does Alice have to do with this?” 

“Well,” Bentley said, giving Sly a nervous glance as he glanced back at his computer screen. “The way the Contessa puts it at least, ‘her fickle insecurity will make her a prime subject for conditioning. With her complicated past-’ ”

“Bentley-” Sly said, making his friend stop talking as he closed his eyes and turned away. All the fights, Sly’s watchful eye; it all seemed so much worse now. “So what you’re saying is…”

“What I’m saying is if we find her, she might not recognize us right away.”

The news hit Sly. He could feel the panic build in his chest with the shame, making him sick to his stomach. If only they didn’t jump into all this so soon. Maybe things would be different. Maybe if he just, for once, grew up . Decided to be a brother. The pressure of it all threatened to crush him.   

“It’s all something…” Bentley mumbled, sitting with the news himself. A million different theories ran through his head, a million different solutions… All pointing to the same sorry thought. They couldn’t be sure. “It’s all something we will have to deal with as we go.”

“That’s all you have to say?” 

“I don’t have all the answers, Sly.” Bentley said, shrugging. “But we’re in this together. We won’t stop until it’s done.” 

“So,” he said, taking a breath and placing his feet on the table. “What’s next?” 

“We sleep.” Bentley said matter of factly, shutting his laptop and pushing the chair out. “We’re no good to anyone with no sleep.”

———

The news resulted in a restless night and an early start. Sly and Bentley found themselves walking the bridge in front of the Contessa’s home as the sun rose over Prague. Bentley explained that morning that the bridge they were standing on at that very moment was a disguise for the power to the security system of the prison. Large pipes stretched underneath, suspending the bridge upward. Bentley took a knee next to one of the pillars of the bridge and went to work. 

“So what am I here for?” Sly asked, stepping behind Bentley and scanning the area for any of the patrols nearby.

“I need to focus if I’m going to plant these,” Bentley said, preparing to wrap one of his explosives around the pillar. “You’re my muscle. To your left, Sly.”

Sly looked over, seeing a patrol vulture that was heading their way. He started to walk away from Bentley and eyed the side of the bridge. Still out of sight; Sly swung himself over the side of the bridge and held on tight to the ledge as the guard passed where he hid. Sly pushed himself back over the ledge and withdrew his cane. With one quick swing he hit his cane on the side of the vulture’s head. The bird fell with a thump, leaving him unconscious in the middle of the bridge. 

Bentley finished his work and walked toward Sly now. The turtle walked past him, finding the second pillar on the bridge. 

“So,” Bentley said, sitting down and beginning his work as Sly approached. “Are we going to continue this game where you don’t talk about it?” 

Sly sighed, shaking his head as he took a seat on the bridge’s ledge. He crossed his arms as he thought. Sly couldn’t help but curse himself for his flaws. The past few weeks have given the raccoon time to take his own personal inventory. How foolish of him to think that hiding his tribulations from his sister and friends would be saving them; in fact, it has done quite the opposite. Sly’s introspection had caused his feelings of shame to worsen. It was all his fault.

“What if they’re not in solitary?” Sly asked, biting his lip and looking away from Bentley. “It seems like a coincidence, you said it yourself. Having them all in one place.”

“Then we’ll find them.” Bentley said simply, sticking a wire to the bridge’s structure. In all reality, Bentley was afraid that Sly had a point. The turtle has been keeping a level semi-optimistic head for his friend but has been finding it difficult as the facts surfaced. The Contessa was smart; so smart, in fact that Bentley has been anticipating that something will go wrong once they make an attempt to spring his friends. It was all a tough pill to swallow. 

Sly could see that his friend has been foreboding. “Fickle insecurity?’” he said, staring at Bentley. “What does that even mean?”

“If you’d been paying attention,” Bentley said, glancing over at Sly as he finished his work. “She’s been struggling-“

“If I’d been paying-“

“You’ve been shutting her out, Sly.” Bentley cut him off, causing him to stop. The turtle stood up, brushing himself off. “You’ve been shutting us all out. I get it, I understand why you do it. But now it’s time to make up for it.”

Bentley looked at Sly seriously, getting the message. Sly gulped and nodded. His words were harsh but true. 

“You’re right.” he sighed, thinking. “It's...” 

“It’s the never ending dread of being alive.” Bentley said, taking a knee next to the pillar on the other side of the bridge. “But it means you’re alive.”

“Probably best if we don’t have an epiphany mid job.”

“Hey, if it inspires you, it inspires you.” Bentley said cheekily, causing his friend to crack a smile. “This is the last one. I’m going to head back and see if the Contessa updated Alice or Murray’s records. As for you, we need to get our hands on keys for a tank.” 

“A tank?” Sly asked, eyebrows raised. He started to wonder what the turtle had in mind.

“It’s how we’ll get into solitary. The front doors are outdated and weak, making them easy to blast through.” Bentley explained as he started to pack his equipment again. “You’ll find a set of keys in a guard house across from the gate entrance. Give me a call once you get there.”

With a nod the two parted ways. Sly looked toward the prison gates in the distance and started his journey. He never had much of a chance to explore outside of those stone walls; having been a prisoner his first journey in. Guard houses were scattered throughout the area. As far as he could see the area served as a compound for the Contessa and her men; her home specifically separated from the rest, right next to the train that led them out of that part of Prague. 

The prison gates stretched high over the land. Its pointy details warned anyone who dared to approach, the stone detailing etched with the words “ abbandonate ogni speranza voi che entrate qui.” A line from Dante’s Inferno which was said to be etched into the gates of hell. The English translation read “Abandon All Hope, Ye Who Enter Here.”

Sly laughed at that. He remembered that quote thanks to Bentley; who would go on and on about the book to Alice about how she should read it. Now it seemed an awfully fitting saying to have engraved in the entrance of that prison. 

Now midday; the outside streets were crowded with guards on patrol. Sly took a seat on a rooftop across from the guard house and dialed up Bentley. 

“I see you made it. How’s it look?”

“Empty… Is there any security measures I should know about?” 

“The guard houses are relatively low on security, an alarming door out front. I’m reading multiple vent routes…”

“Loud and clear, buddy.” Sly said, grabbing his cane and standing up. The raccoon took hold of a street lamp next to the building, using it as a way to slow his fall to the ground below. 

“Looks like starting from the east vent system will be best.” Bentley said, his nasally voice ringing through again. “Let me know once you make it…”

Sly and Bentley had done this a million times by now; Bentley, behind his computer, with some type of blueprint on his screen as he directed Sly on the best way to break into a place. Sly, on the ground, listening to each word the wise turtle had to say. Instead of going through the motions like he normally did, Sly found himself exercising more caution than usual. With the wake up call they all experienced it seemed to be a given. 

With a creak and a cloud of dust, Sly lowered himself into the main control room of the guard house. What he saw was what made him freeze in place. Sly went pale as he stared up at the four monitors before him, illuminating the darkened parts of the room. Each screen was divided into sections of four. Different camera views spread over the screens, each one pointing to a different area of the Contessa’s cell blocks. He could feel his heart beat faster as he started to sweat. His eyes studied the screens, taking mental note of each and every detail. 

“Sly, you there?”

Sly felt himself snap out of his trance as his mind sharpened. “Did you know about the cameras?” he asked Bentley. “There’s four monitors with a few different camera angles, Bentley.”

“No… But it makes sense.” Bentley said, thinking. “Let’s see… There’s four guard houses stationed on the outside of the prison. If you do the math and make the assumption that each one holds the same amount of monitors, it adds up.”

Sly did not respond, eyes glued to the screen as he watched the horror on the monitors unfold. Every other camera was a cell; and in most of the cells, was a prisoner. Men and women of different species scattered around Cell Block C. Some shook where they sat on the bed of their dirty cell; some screamed in the distance, and some flinched at that noise. Then there was the torture. The sounds emitted from the screens shook Sly to the bone. He watched as a guard beat down his prisoner until he no longer moved. The sight brought up memories from his time inside.

He could feel his breathing quicken as he forced himself to look away. Sly felt himself stumble backwards, grabbing the ledge of a desk for support. The room seemed to get smaller as he centered himself. His eyes darted to the wall next to him, finding the keys to numerous vehicles hanging on multiple hooks. He quickly diverted his attention to search for what he was looking for.

“I thought you didn’t need keys to start a tank.” Sly said, looking over the keys on the wall.

“The keys are for a padlock on the hatch. Should look like a normal key, just a bit bigger.” 

Sly found a singular key on a hook, matching Bentley’s description. With one final glance at the monitors and his heart beating out of his chest he then turned to leave. Sly threw the front door open, resting his hands on his knees as he caught his breath. As the raccoon centered himself he looked back and forth as if he was searching for an upcoming patrol. Then quickly and swiftly, Sly Cooper ran from the scene. 

Chapter Text

“Well, it’s now or never.”  

Sly and Bentley stood before the prison gates, staring up at the large structure. Neither of the boys said it but the duo felt nervous. Usually they faced each challenge head on and ready; but it was different. It was only the two of them and they felt vulnerable. Yet there was no other way. 

Bentley looked over at the tank, directing their attention away from the gate. He held a hand out to Sly who dropped the keys in the palm. He then unlocked the padlock, and Sly slid the chain out from the latch and opened the door up. Bentley took a deep breath as he entered the tank and looked over the controls. The space felt claustrophobic; but it couldn’t matter. His eyes scanned for the correct button as he spoke.

“Increasing ride height on the treads…” he mumbled for Sly to hear over the binocucom, as he felt the tank move upwards. “There, you should have enough room. Let’s get going.”

“Ready when you are, pal.”

Bentley started the tank and inched forward slowly, heart pounding. The front gate to the prison stood terrifyingly tall. Its pointy details warned anyone who dared to approach.

“ Abbandonate ogni speranza voi che entrate qui.” Bentley said aloud, looking up at the words before them. 

“Awfully fitting phrase for the gates of this place.”

“Ah, you remembered.” Bentley said, a slight smile on his lips. 

“How could I forget? You and Alice never shut up about that book.”

“A lot of it still rings true. We’re basically Dante and Virgil.”

“Okay, now you lost me.” 

The tank came to a stop inside the compound, stationed directly in front of the cell block that held Murray and Alice. Sly crawled out from the bottom of the tank as Bentley let loose on the turret. 

“Head inside while I sabotage this tank.” Bentley called at Sly. The raccoon nodded, running inside through the busted doors. 

The inside of the cell block was much bigger than what Sly ever saw of the prison. From the first day he was there, he earned his spot in “the Hole” almost immediately. The cells lined high up and to the ceiling, its walls gray and dreary. Alice should be in at least one of the cells. 

“I’m inside Bentley. I can look for Alice on my way up to the control center.”

“Perfect. Be careful, I know her treatment was a bit more… Excessive, then yours.”

That grim reminder lingered as he started to climb, using his cane to swing from one platform to the next. He spent the next few minutes searching each cell as he made it to the roof of the guard’s control center. Each one was in worst shape than the next: dirty and cold. Prisoners were either asleep or too out of it to notice Sly as he walked by, eyes scanning the area for any familiar sign. 

His heart dropped once he reached the top, realizing his sister was nowhere to be found.

“Bentley, she’s not here.” Sly said through the binocucom, pausing on the roof as he looked around the room.

“What? Are you sure?!” Bentley exclaimed, panic present in the turtle’s voice. “We can’t stop now. If she’s not here, I’ll find out where they put her.”

“Bentley…” Sly hesitated, not feeling right with the plan anymore. They were the one with all the cards, and the Contessa had nothing. Or so he thought.

“Sly, if we stop now we won’t get to Murray.” Bentley reminded him, just as he made it through the doors of the cell block. Bentley looked up to where Sly stood on the control center. 

“You’re right.” Sly said with a sigh, turning and swinging from the roof into the control center. He landed inside, placing the device onto the control panel. “I’m running your algorithmic decrypter now.”

“Success! We have access to solitary confinement.”

“Glad there’s a silver lining.”

Sly made it down and through the entrance to solitary confinement. Bentley was staring at Murray with concern as he approached. Their friend stood in a large glass prison that looked soundproof. Murray’s eyes were bulging, almost his entire body twitching as he swatted at himself. His normal pink skin looked redder in certain places: which told his friends he’s been in that shape for awhile.

“Ooh, that looks bad.” Bentley said to Sly as he looked around the room. A sick feeling set over Sly as he watched Murray. He shook his head as if to try to shake away the thought. “You said Murray was being forced to eat spice, right?”

“Yeah, he said he was feeling weird.” 

“I doubt he even knows we’re here.” Bentley said, looking back at Murray. “We’re gonna have to do this the hard way.”

“The hard way?”

“We have to snap him out of it. Because the moment we try to set him loose, he might try to hurt us.” Bentley warned, which worried them both. “You see the hypno-boxes around the room? The Contessa used those to heighten the effects of the spice.Murray is in an agitated state, so if you turn all those boxes on, he may break down the door.”

Sly was surprised at the suggestion, looking down at his friend as if he was crazy. “Sure, but what about the part where he’s loose chasing us?”

“You’ll have to trick him into destroying those boxes. He will snap out of it.” Bentley looked to his side, noticing a computer. Above them were four separate keypads, surrounded by lasers for security. Four keypads, four hypno-boxes. “I can probably get that security offline for you.”

Sly looked up as Bentley went to work. He looked around and found a way to swing up to the upper level using his cane. Just as he walked up to a keypad, the lasers turned off. 

“One down!” Bentley called, as Sly powered up the first hypno-box. A slight whirring sound filled the area, making Murray jump from his spot in solitary confinement. 

Sly looked behind him, noticing another set of lasers turned off on the next keypad. He repeated the process three more times and watched as Murray grew angrier. As Sly powered up the last box, he heard a guttural roar.

A large crash was heard from the solitary confinement cell. Murray ran out in a rage, picking up the nearest table centered in the block. With one large crack the table flew into the wall next to him. Sly jumped down which caught his friend’s attention immediately. 

The fire in his eyes scared Sly briefly, but motivated him to run. Sly ran behind one of the boxes, moving as Murray charged forward. The box broke apart in pieces, the dish attached to the top flying across the room.

Three more. Sly thought, running to the next one. He hid behind it as Murray charged, moving at the last second. 

They had reached the last box and Murray did not seem to calm down. Sly hid behind the box as Murray charged forward. Murray was too fast, however, because as he smashed through the box he picked Sly up by the throat.

“No!” Bentley shouted, panic filling his voice as he watched Murray with his hands around Sly’s neck. Sly struggled to fight the hippo’s grip, clawing at his hands. Murrray’s grip went tighter. Sly was picked up off his feet, his back hitting the wall behind him. That’s when the fire in Murray’s eyes started to fade and his face softened. He let go, leaving Sly to fall to the ground coughing. 

“Sly! No, I’m so sorry Sly. I didn’t know what happened-“ Murray pleaded, guilt filling him as he knelt to check on his friend. Sly shook a hand, showing he was fine. 

“It’s okay, pal.” he gasped, watching as Murray tried to center himself. Murray held his hand out to Sly and helped him up from the dirt. 

“How do you feel?” Bentley asked curiously, Murray shrugging as his friend approached. Sly placed a hand to his neck as he attempted to sooth the pain. 

“I dunno… The anger is gone, but I can’t think.”

“Take a few deep breaths.” Bentley advised him.

“Wait, where’s Al?” Murray asked, noticing his friend wasn’t there.

“We were hoping you knew the answer to that one, pal.” Sly asked hopefully. 

“Last I saw her was earlier today. She was here when they brought me into solitary confinement.” Murray said, worried. The hippo still looked troubled. He almost looked like he was growing irritated with himself, unable to find an answer that he felt he should know. He couldn’t remember.

“They must have moved her.” Bentley concluded, as Murray fished something out of his pocket. 

“The Clockwerk Heart!” Sly exclaimed, surprised that his friend managed to hold onto it. “Way to go, Murray!”

“I managed to keep this half safe, it was hard to hide from-“ Murray stopped talking, distracted. He felt goosebumps form on his neck, like he had many eyes on him. He turned around to see the Contessa staring at the three from behind the prison gate.

“Perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate some life choices.” 

The spider turn and ran, immediately setting Murray into action.

“The Contessa! She’s getting away!” he exclaimed, running to the gate and attempting to pull it up. He used all his strength, groaning as he pushed the large frame up. 

“Let’s go!”

The three ran through the gate, and burst through the exit door and onto the prison walls. Murray stood before his friends in a protective stance.

“You no good, lousy head shrinker!” he exclaimed, causing the Contessa to grin.

“Oh Murray, we were making such progress in our sessions.”

“The only mental help I need is to never see you again.” Murray shot back, almost making her laugh.

“Such displaced hostility. It seems you are missing a part of your crew… Of course, I had a feeling you would show up after Sly Cooper broke out. I've put too much work into my sessions with your sister, Cooper.” the Contessa said through gritted teeth, looking directly at Sly now. “I will make sure you all never, ever, see her again.” 

Sly grit his teeth as Murray bellowed, “I’m done talking, now I talk with my fists!” 

In the distance was the Contessa’s blimp heading directly for their position. The Contessa turned and ran, causing the three to run after. They couldn’t let her get away. The spider was too fast, however; she gained distance on the three and jumped onto the blimp just in time. Sly, Bentley and Murray watched as the Contessa flew away and sirens approached in the background. 

Sly turned, looking back up at the sky. She was gone. The damn spider fell out of their grasp, but this time they had no idea where Alice was. The Cooper Gang was back together but had a piece missing. 

————————-

It’s been a week; tensions ran high as the gang spent their time searching. Sly or Bentley hadn’t slept. Sly would spend his nights pacing, finding some way to keep his brain busy. If he dwelled on it too much he would be no use to Alice. Bentley spent the night doing some hard data crunching while Murray snored in the background. The hippo has been different since his time in Prague, mainly more tired and less enthusiastic than usual. 

The three stood around Bentley, watching as the turtle worked through pages of information. 

“She should have been there,” Bentley said, slamming a frustrated fist onto the table that held his laptop. Sly stood nervously behind him, leg shaking as he watched Bentley work. “Now she’s barely out of our reach, again.”

“We can think of something, right?” Sly asked, coming up behind Bentley and looking between him and the computer in front of him. “ Anything, Bentley. That big brain of yours has to have something.” 

“We barely left Prague, Sly. The Contessa or Neyla haven’t made any movements. I have absolutely no idea where Alice could be.” Bentley insisted, his words like a punch in the face for Sly to hear. If Bentley had no idea, it was bad. His sister was out there in the hands of that lunatic and there wasn’t a thing he could do about it. 

“Jesus…” Sly said, shaking his head and turning his back. 

“We-We’ll find her, Sly.” Murray said, trying to comfort his friend. Truthfully, everyone in the room felt hopeless. Sly could feel tears threatening the corner of his eyes as he dwelled on it. He put a hand against the wall, leaning into it as he faced away from his friends. 

“Sly, I need you to look at me.” Bentley said carefully as his friend sniffed and turned around hesitantly. “You’re not alone in this. She’s family. To us too. She could be a million miles away, and we’d still do everything we can to help her.” 

“So we sit here and wait?” Sly asked, looking at Bentley unsure. His friend sighed with a look in his eye that told him he didn’t like it either. 

“Yes. Rather painfully, but yes.”

Sly paused, looking between the floor then his friends. “Together, then. All for one,”

“And one for all.” Bentley and Murray said together, a small smile managing to appear on their faces.

Chapter Text

September 21st, 2002

They all watched as the bird laid motionless in the molten lava. They were all having a hard time believing it. Clockwerk had always been a surreal threat to the Cooper Family; especially to Sly and Alice, who had never been able to meet the bird themselves until now. Carmelita had only heard rumors of the ancient menace. It all sounded like a superstition until she found herself captive in that gas chamber. 

Sly flew up on Carmelita’s jet pack, his clothes tattered and the look on his face numb. He was exhausted. Not only had the last few months been physically draining, but it was emotionally draining. Alice watched her brother with worry as he threw the jetpack from his shoulders. He almost stumbled as he did so, causing Alice and his friends to come running. Sly then fell to his knees. 

“Sly-“ Alice warned, grabbing hold of her brother’s arms as he steadied himself. He finally looked at her, his eyes glossy as tears threatened to spill. 

“H-He’s gone-“ he stuttered out, Alice nodding with understanding. She then hugged him, holding him tight as his arms wrapped around her. “I did it, Alice, I-“

“I know, Sly. You did it.” 

Present Day

Time for a little payback. The Contessa, having escaped us in the prison, is now hiding out in her castle estate. There was no betting that Alice was somewhere inside. The place is a well-fortified gothic nightmare that would make any thief run in terror. Terrible or not, that’s where we’re headed. To sweeten the deal, since our last caper, we’ve learned that the Contessa is in possession of the Clockwerk eyes. The Thievius Raccoonus describes the eyes stopping opponents dead in their tracks, transfixed in their gaze. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out what an accomplished hypnotist could do with such a powerful artifact. And to make matters worse, my sister was stuck in the middle of it. Bentley has his theories about what the Contessa has been doing to her this whole time; some theories he did not want to say out loud. News of the Contessa’s corruption has spread to Interpol. Constable Neyla, being closest to the case, was granted a cash allowance to hire an army of local mercenaries. It looks like we’re walking into a full-scale war, but we have to act now before we lose anymore than we already have.

“We’re walking into an all out showdown. I want to use that to our advantage.” Bentley said, as he followed behind Murray who had his arms full with a couple boxes. The hippo sat the boxes on the floor, watching as Bentley spoke to the two. “You may have noticed from the moment we rolled into town: Neyla has set up headquarters in that old bank.”

The turtle pointed at the window. Sly and Murray followed his gaze, watching as tanks patrolled the streets right at their doorstep. 

“Neyla will flip if she finds out we’re this close.” Murray commented, Sly shrugging. 

“Let her. We’re not done here yet.” Sly said, turning to Bentley. “Do we know if she has anything to play?”

Bentley shook his head. “That’s where we’ll start. We need the typical recon… This place has given me the creeps from the moment we got here. Something tells me there’s more going on. I’ll know what to do with that once you scout the area.” 

“I’ll leave now. Where first?” 

“The re-education tower.” Bentley stood up from his seat and walked over to the window, pointing at a singular tower separated slightly from the Contessa’s estate. “I believe we will find the Clockwerk Eyes there… And maybe, Alice and Carmelita.”

“Anything specific you want me to look for in there?” 

“You know, a computer terminal, the normal muscle… Stuff like that.” Bentley shrugged, looking into a box next to him. He then brought out a small cube, with one side that looked like it opened up. He turned it slightly and pointed to a small button. “After, you’ll need this. Do not press this button until I say so.” 

Sly squinted at the device, confused. “What is it?”

“It’s a vacuum chamber. Unless you want to be stuffed into a box smaller than you, heed my warning.” Bentley said, as Sly pocketed the device into his pouch. 

“Okay Bentley, small button bad.” 

“Very bad. Anyways, Murray, while Sly is out I’ll need you to locate the head of security in the castle estate. I need to ask him some questions-“

Bentley’s voice trailed off as Sly left the hideout. He felt tired; which reminded him of the last time he felt this exhausted, back when they were tracking down the Fiendish Five. He remembered Alice always telling him how he needed to take a moment to rest. Maybe she was always the one who could see clearer than him.  

The streets were swarmed with tanks. They were still in Prague, therefore still under that same gloomy sky that seemed darker as the days went on. Sly began to wonder if they’ll ever make it out.

With some careful maneuvering Sly made his way past the ground mercenaries and onto the Contessa’s estate. His only problem now was the Contessa’s guards and difficult architecture. On his way, he took pictures of anything that looked like it could be useful. The boats that patrolled the river, the blimp that flew overhead providing the Contessa’s escape. Sly soon found himself on some of the walkways that stretched from building to building. He had eyes on the re-education tower, approaching the front door. Immediately he noticed the giant lock on the front.

Of course, he thought, shaking his head. It couldn’t have been that easy.

Thinking quick, he found his way around the tower and to a window. Sly entered the building carefully, horrified at the scene before him.

The Contessa sat there working, typing something into the terminal in front of her as the Clockwerk eyes hovered above her glowing. Carmelita Fox was there, strapped to a medieval looking bench. The Clockwerk eyes were before her, pulling her in as she struggled. A few of the Contessa's shadow guards stood at the door. That’s when Sly saw Alice. She sat on her knees next to a wall, leaning against it with her eyes shut. She looked pale and tied. Her clothes were worn and dirty; a true sign of just how long it has been. 

“Bentley,” Sly whispered over the binocucom, covering his mouth. “There’s a lot more than Clockwerk Eyes here.”

”I don’t think they see you. Grab a few pictures-“

“Bentley, Alice doesn’t look so good.” Sly said, cringing as he scanned the scene before him. 

“Sly, if we are going to help her I need to know what’s in that room and how to destroy it.” Bentley said firmly, growing serious. “I know it hurts to see her like this. It will be better once we’re able to get her out of there.”

Sly obeyed hesitantly, taking out his binocucom as Carmelita spoke.

“Why are you doing this? Neyla set me up, I’m an honest cop.” Carmelita said firmly, struggling to get the words out.

“Of course you are. I’ve read your psychological profile.”

“Then why?”

“Because, dear… You’re honest. You see, by chasing after the Coopers you learned too much about the Klaww Gang and its spice operation.” the Contessa said matter a factly, glancing back at Alice in the corner. “Now, when she starts to wake up, your session will be over. I’m so close to breaking through that mind of hers…”

“You’re a coward.” Carmelita said through gritted teeth. “I’ll make it my life’s work to destroy you.”

“Yes, yes…”

Sly snapped a few pictures, listening into the conversation. He was not surprised to find Carmelita still so headstrong after all this time; she was known for her temper. It almost felt wrong sitting there and watching them. He felt like he should be jumping into action, but like Bentley said, they needed a plan. 

Sly ducked out the same window he came in, looking through the photos he just took in his hand. Outside the tower he looked at a photo of an old computer, the restraints Carmelita was in, his sister sitting next to the shadow guards, and the Clockwerk Eyes. By now he could tell there was a reason each memeber if the Klaww Gang got their Clockwerk Part; all to accelerate their part of the bigger scheme they have going on. Sly could still remember those eyes as they drilled into him over the lava of the Krakarov Volcano in Russia. Now the old bird was back again, after he thought he ended him once and for all. He felt naive. 

Sly shook his head. He pocketed the photos, grabbing onto a hook on the side of the tower and began to go back down. That’s when Bentley spoke. 

“I got your photos. Do you believe in ghosts, Sly?” 

Sly furrowed his brow, slightly confused. “Well, that’s a loaded question pal.”

“All I’m saying is it's time to start believing. As you know, the Contessa and Neyla are in a conflict. So time for us to use that to our advantage.” Bentley said, Sly pausing and taking a moment to listen. “I’ve marked the location of a crypt on your binocucom. Here’s the fun part: it’s loaded with ghosts.”

“Is this where the vacuum chamber comes in?”

“Bingo.” Bentley said. “Then the best part, you drop it down the chimney of the bank. The impact from the fall will cause it to break open.”

“I like the sound of that.” Sly said with a grin, picturing Neyla running in terror from her headquarters. Any small opportunity to get back at her is one to take. 

“Her near death experience should inspire her to purchase some extra man power.” 

“And that benefits us, how?” Sly asked, eyes scanning the digitized map connected to his binocucom as Bentley spoke. 

“Escalates the bad blood and all that.” Bentley said. “Everything will line up, Sly. The further this feud escalated the better.”   

Sly sighed. “Sorry. I just want to get the hell out of Prague.”

“You and I both, pal.”

With a click Bentley hung up the call, leaving Sly to concentrate in silence. According to the map the crypt was not far from where he stood. It was directly below the tower, in fact. Sly jumped from the balcony and deployed his paraglide, allowing him to soar easily to the ground below. As he stuffed the chute back into his pack he inspected the door before him. It was intricate with detail, and right in the middle was a red gem. Surrounding him were multiple gravestones; which told him he was in the right place. 

The door was stuck. Sly shoved a shoulder into it as he attempted to open it, finally opening with a creak and a cloud of dirt. He coughed as he looked through the dark crypt. Torches lined the hallway and the room was cold. 

Man, this place is already giving me the creeps. Sly thought, taking a few hesitant steps forward. As he dwelled deeper it got colder. Reaching the end of the hallway Sly found another room with a coffin sitting in the middle of it. The wooden casket was chained shut; as if someone was trying to keep something evil inside. Unsure, Sly used his binocucom to dial up Bentley. The ringing noise turned to static, indicating to Sly there was no signal in the stone room.

“Damn it.” he mumbled, giving up. “If Bentley says to do it, I trust him.”

Sly began to remove the chains. As he did so, a loud screeching noise filled the room and the lid started to shake. Panic filled his chest as he desperately threw himself on top of the casket to keep whatever was inside trapped. Carefully, Sly withdrew the vacuum chamber. As he moved the lid slightly upward he pressed the button, tossing it inside as the screeching got louder. 

Then it stopped.

The raccoon was unsure if he should get up; afraid that would allow the ghosts inside to escape and fill the room. Eventually he slowly got up, carefully removing the lid to the coffin.

Inside were only a few spider webs and the now glowing vacuum chamber. Sly inspected the device carefully, then pocketed it once again. Now for the best part.

Making it back across to Neyla’s HQ was difficult. The only thing connecting the Contessa’s estate to Neyla’s HQ was a bridge that was covered in spotlights and a couple wires. Sly kept the high ground as he made his way over to the bridge, taking the chance once again. He made it to the gate to find a guard standing watch. The vulture leaned against the wall with his eyes shut, allowing Sly to run past and dodge his way around the spotlights. 

As Sly climbed to the top of the bank he withdrew the vacuum chamber from his pocket. With a smile he dropped the box down the chimney and heard a faint snap. 

Moans and wind filled the air as the ghosts were rudely forced from their chamber. A loud scream echoed up the chimney, and before he knew it Sly watched as Neyla ran out of the bank. He ducked as she looked back, looking pale at the near death experience she just had. Neyla said nothing as she watched. She looked angry as the wheels turned in her head, forming the perfect plan to get back at the Contessa.

Chapter Text

Alice and Carmelita  were not even sure what day it was anymore. The day they left the prison felt so far away now; like a distant memory they were constantly trying to unlock. Alice felt if she focused too much on how long she has been there she would lose her mind even faster. Carmelita found herself slipping into a calmer mindset, no doubt an effect of her captivity sitting in. 

Alice felt weak as she was drug down the hallway, vision blurring each time she tried to focus. The guard tossed her into a cell and she fell to the ground face first. Alice pushed her hands up, forcing herself to turn over and lay on her back. As the door locked she heard a voice.

“What was it today,” Carmelita Fox said as Alice turned her head. The vixen sat in a cell next to hers, her clothing tattered and dirty from the wear. She looked tired. “Shocking or hypnotherapy?”

Alice said nothing as she laid back on the floor, facing the ceiling. She wasn’t sure if she could say anything even if she wanted to. Each nerve in her body felt like it was vibrating, overstimulating to where she couldn’t think. 

“Wow, you’re quiet now.” Carmelita said, a little surprised. “Shocking day when a Cooper is quiet.”

She may be a little right on that one. 

That comment made Alice wonder how Sly and her friends were doing. She wondered what they were doing right now. She can imagine Bentley, hunched over a blueprint with a pencil between his teeth and planning. She can imagine Murray, lifting his weights to keep his strength sharp. And she can imagine Sly, worried but determined. Alice had no doubt that her friends were working to find her. The only doubt she had was if it’d work. 

“You know, I saw what day it was on one of their charts today.” Carmelita said, making Alice look over. “Happy Birthday, Alice.”

For some reason that made Alice smirk. It was her birthday.  Then that smirk formed into a smile. I’m eighteen. Then the smile turned into laughter. Alice was laughing so hard her entire body shook. Everything hurts. Then she finally managed to speak. 

“How do you know my birthday?”

“How do you think?” Carmelita said somewhat sarcastically. “You spend years going after someone and you learn a few things about them.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Alice said, turning to look at Carmelita from where she laid. “How long have we been here?”

“It’s been two months.” 

Alice said nothing at that, disappointed. It felt like it’s been years. 

“Normally I’d make some comment about how me being here is you guys’ fault-“

“Ever hear of the expression for the greater good?”

“But I know that Sly, Bentley and Murray are our only hope out of here.” Carmelita said, rather painfully at the fact that she was relying on Sly Cooper to rescue them all. 

“How the mighty have fallen, Inspector.” Alice said, a weak grin forming on her lips. “Never thought I’d hear you admit something like that.”

“Pains me to do so.” she said, leaning back and looking to the ceiling. “I stopped thinking I’d get myself out of this a week ago. Even if we manage to escape this place-“

“You’re just as wanted as the Cooper Gang is,” Alice said back, rather teasingly to Carmelita’s annoyance. “Don’t worry. I’m sure my brother will find some way to fix that.”

“He needs to keep his tail in his own business-“

“He won’t.” Alice said, as the two let the silence surround them once again. 

———-

“Bentley, come in…”

Bentley exited the crypt briefly, withdrawing the earpiece and hitting it with the palm of his hand slightly as static filled the area. He then placed it back in his ear, now hearing Murray much more clearly. 

“Yeah Murray, I see what Sly meant about losing signal in the crypts.” Bentley said. “But I confirmed it, she has the bad mojo collector.”

“Huh?”

“A semi magical device that sucks up bad mojo. It’s what keeps these spirits in the crypts.” Bentley explained, looking around. “They’ll be just enough left for them to stay if I visit at least three crypts.”

“Wow, sounds easy.” 

“Not really… This is some powerful stuff, which means the collector will be unstable. If something hits it I’m done for.” 

“Sounds hard.” Murray said. “You sure you don’t need any extra muscle buddy?” 

“I’ll be alright, Murray. These crypts are loaded with traps if I have any unexpected visitors.” Bentley said, looking back towards the door. “I should get started.”

“Okay. Be careful, little buddy.”

“Always pal.”

Bentley hung up, entering back into the cold dark crypt. It was the same one Sly went into to release the ghosts on Neyla; so he could drain this one of bad mojo if he wanted to.

The bad mojo collector sat on a couple hooks on the wall, ready for anyone who needed it in a pinch. With Bentley’s research he discovered that the guards make it a point not to go down to the crypts unless they have to. Luckily for them they had bad mojo sensors all around the crypt; which was unfortunately unlucky for Bentley. According to the Contessa’s files there was a designated guard in charge of monitoring the bad mojo levels in each crypt. With that, Bentley knew he had to make quick work; the moment the energy dropped too low he needed to get out of there. 

Bentley slinged the collector onto his back and studied the area. The ceiling had a single spout that spat out bad mojo when the pipe was open. Now all he needed to do was get started.

Above ground Sly was having an easier time. With Neyla and the Contessa’s war escalating, Bentley discovered that the Contessa had acquired a voice modulator to take control of Neyla’s army. The device was being held in one of the guard houses at that very moment. The guard houses on the Contessa’s estate were different compared to those near the prison; mainly in security. Two guards stood watch out front which made getting inside harder for Sly. He sat down on a rooftop across from the house and called Murray.

“It looks like the front door is out of the question,” Sly said as the dial tone ended, signaling that Murray picked up. 

“Bentley said there’s a hatch underground. You’ll have to go through a drain pipe to reach it.” Murray’s voice came through. “I still don’t know how to use his computer… But you’ll need to steal a key for the hatch from one of the Contessa’s guards. The location should be marked on your binocucom map.” 

“Thanks pal, I see it.” Sly said, checking the map and noticing the waypoint. “Good job. I’ll call you up if I need anything else.” 

“Ok.”

Sly hung up and started to make his way over. As he did so he found himself wondering how his sister was doing. Even so he knew it was futile; that if he dwelled too much that it would consume him. Then he realized what day it was. 

The realization made him stop and take a moment to feel his sadness. He let it wash over him as he found himself in a memory. He could see Alice, five years old and giggling behind a lit birthday cake. Their father sitting next to them as their mother walked in with a camera, snapping a photo for them all to remember.

Sly shook his head and looked back at the map. Focus. He was getting closer. He could see the guard not far from him, eyes trained forward on a door before him. Sly approached slowly with his cane ready.

What a bozo. He thought. 

Sly swiped the keys and backed away. With a small grin he twirled them in his hand and clenched it shut, pocketing the set. A ding rang through his ear, telling him Murray queued into his earpiece. 

“I marked the entrance of the drain pipe on your binocucom map.” Murray said, sounding hesitant. “…I think. Anyways, Bentley is almost done with his job. We’ll be ready to take down Neyla and the Contessa in no time!”

“I hope so, pal.” Sly said, the hippo’s optimism brightening his mood slightly. Sly hung up the call again and took a look at his map. 

The drain pipe was located right in the middle of the estate. Luckily, there was more than enough access down below. He knew he had to get down there before getting seen.

As Sly ran forward a loud creak could be heard overhead. Instinctively he stopped and took a step backward, just as a large wooden crate hurdled toward the ground and shattered before him. He removed his cane from his back. Something in him told him to swing behind him, and in that moment his cane collided into Constable Neyla’s clawed hand. 

“Sly Cooper,” Neyla said with a grin, holding the cane back as Sly tried to push forward. “I figured you and your gang made it here by now.”

Sly felt his anger grow. He wanted to end her right then and there. He pushed harder, until in one moment Neyla succeeded in pushing him back. His eyes narrowed. 

“You only have yourself to thank for that one.”

“I’m gonna make this quick and simple.” Neyla explained, as the two kept their eyes trained on each other as they both sized each other up. “Stay out of this.”

“Well, you see…” Sly said, stopping and pretending to think about it. “No. I’m only here for my sister and the Clockwerk eyes. What happens after is none of my business.”

“How do you even know she’s still alive?” Neyla asked, narrowing her eyes at the raccoon. “Or that she’s even still her? I know what the Contessa gets into, and she talked about her plans. Seems like a lot of effort to go through.”

“You see, you wouldn’t understand Neyla because you’ve never had anyone who cares about you-“ Sly said, causing her to glare. “But you’d do anything for the people you care about.”

“You and your gang have no idea what you’re messing with.” Neyla said as Sly started to walk away. He scoffed as he kept his eyes trained forward. 

“Yeah, well we’ve never been good at stopping while we’re ahead.” 

Chapter Text

Sly and Murray watched Bentley expectantly as he poured over their plans one last time. The turtle wore a look of concentration as he switched between the blueprints before him and glanced at his laptop. He then paused, looking at his friends. 

“I believe we’re ready.”

Sly looked over at Murray, and he could tell they were all thinking it. They were all afraid. This mission they wanted to work out so badly they wouldn’t know what to do if it didn’t. It wasn’t just about the Clockwerk Eyes; it was about family. 

“You sure?” Sly asked Bentley, who nodded. 

“The voice modulator you installed will let me trick Neyla’s army easily-“ Bentley started, thinking as he spoke. “And thanks to Murray, the Contessa’s numbers are not looking so good either. Based on her records and from previous experience, we know that she is in the re-education tower right now.”

“So I’ll turn off the security on the bridge first right?” Murray asked Bentley, who nodded. “I hope that general was telling the truth or this will get ugly.”

Sly nodded in agreement. He then looked through the window, watching where the blimp laid docked. “Once you do that, Bentley and I will head over to the blimp and get into the tower. If all goes right they should be inside with the Clockwerk Eyes.”

“I’ll head out then.” Murray said, standing up. “I’ll call once we’re ready.”

Sly and Bentley followed Murray outside, watching as their friend made his way over to the bridge. It proved difficult as Neyla’s army was patrolling the surrounding area. As the two stood together Bentley looked up at Sly, seeing almost a vacant expression as he watched. Someone who did not know him well would not understand what he was thinking; but Bentley knew completely. 

“It’ll work out, pal.”

Sly looked back down at Bentley surprised, finding the turtle with his eyes trained on the bridge. Murray was out of sight by now. That’s when the lights looked to be turned off. 

“Oh yeah! Lights are down, guys. Time to call in the calvary. I’ll see if I can find some extra firepower to help out.” 

Sly smiled as Bentley withdrew a microphone and cleared his throat.  

“Attention bloodthirsty mercenaries, castle defenses are down! Seize this opportunity and attack! Charge!”

“Now that you’re done playing war general,” Sly said, sliding his paraglide onto his back. “Wanna go commandeer a blimp?”

“It’s pretty high up, we’ll have to do some climbing.”

“Not a problem for me.” Sly shrugged. The two started making their journey forward, making their way to a tall tower they could paraglide from. 

“I hope your altercation with Neyla won’t influence her to be antagonistic.”

“How do you mean?” Sly asked, as Bentley shrugged. 

“It seems strange, doesn’t it?” he asked, thinking about it. “Confronting you on the Contessa’s property, warning you to stay out of her way… It makes you wonder if she’s planning something.”

“You don’t think she’ll be a problem, will you?”

“I’m saying we shouldn’t count her out.” Bentley warned, the two stopping before the tower as he finished his thought. “Everything should go as planned, Sly. But if she makes it in the middle of this it could get messy.”

Sly stopped, giving Bentley a nod in agreement. His friend was right. Neyla strung them all along for months before she betrayed Alice in India. She certainly has proven how devious she could be. And because of that, Sly could feel a lump form in his stomach as Bentley and him began their ascent. 

The two entered through the window to find the Contessa and Carmelita in the room with a few guards. The machine holding the Clockwerk Eyes was on and activated, making Carmelita flinch with each hypnotic beam hitting her. The Contessa stood near the door talking with her men in a hushed frantic voice. 

“The mercenaries breached the castle defenses?!” she exclaimed quietly, her men nodding. “Go! Defend this castle to the last man!”

“Looks like they’re out of the picture.” Sly whispered, scanning the room. “But Alice isn’t here.” 

“That’s troubling; but we need to press forward. We’re not leaving without her, partner.” Bentley said, walking over to the old computer terminal. “Access for Carmelita’s restraints has to be on here somewhere…”

It didn’t take long for Bentley to find it: Carmelita’s restraints popped off, giving her the opportunity to break from the trance. The vixen blinked rapidly as she steadied herself and stood up. She then swiped her pistol from the table next to her and aimed it at the Contessa.

“Ah-ha!” the woman exclaimed, immersed in her work. “I’ve mapped your brain pattern. We’re about to become good friends…”

“You sure about that?” she said through gritted teeth, serious. She was ready to finally get her back. 

“My dear, you really-” the Contessa turned, seeing that Carmelita was now free. She gasped as her eyes went wide. “Shadow guards!”

The Contessa swung open the exit door and ran. Carmelita quickly followed with a murderous look in her eyes. 

“Come back here, you bitch!”

“I have to admit,” Sly said, opening the gate that separated them from the rest of the room. “I’m glad we set her loose on the witch.”

“We’re not done yet. I need to plant the bad mojo bomb and we can find Alice-“ Bentley said, carrying over the heavy device to the machine. “Stand clear!”

The blast shook the room and filled it with smoke. Sly lost his balance and watched as the pair of eyes hit the wall next to him. He dove in that direction and took the pair of eyes into his hands. The smoke sat in the room heavily as he looked for Bentley. 

“Bentley?” he called. “You okay?”

“This is no place for an asthmatic-“

“Well, chaps-“ Neyla’s voice echoed into the room as a door closed behind her, grabbing Sly and Bentley’s attention as the smoke cleared. “It seems we’re at a stalemate.”

It all started to make sense. Neyla stood before the two, pushing Alice to the floor and on her knees. It was obvious what she was trying to accomplish at this point: a trade. 

“Let her go.” Sly said seriously, holding onto the Clockwerk eyes.

“Oh, I intend to. Once you give me the eyes.”

“Sly, don’t you dare-“ Alice forced out, almost catching her brother off guard. She sounded different. 

“Let’s make this easy.” Sly said, narrowing his eyes at Neyla. “Let my sister go and we skip the step where I knock your block off-“

“I had a feeling you’d be stubborn.” Neyla said, withdrawing a dagger from her belt and grabbing Alice by the hair. Her head is yanked back, exposing her neck as Neyla placed the blade. “So I brought some proper motivation. I mean, you should have seen this coming. Your little friend didn’t, shockingly enough-“

Sly grew angry. He had to give it up. Neyla was right; it was their fault for not foreseeing this, not predicting that the moment Neyla got in the castle she would find the only leverage the Contessa had. Their altercation only hours before was her taunting him. She knew she had the leverage. 

Sly sighed and tossed her the eyes. Neyla’s blade fell to the floor with a small clinck, making her smile in approval. She swiped her knife back up. 

“Suppose I should thank ya, after all. Nothing I did could pry the old hag from the eyes. Well…” Neyla said, a devious smile on her lips. “Ta-ta.”

Sly wanted to hit something; he wanted to curse himself for being so naive, for falling into her trap once again. Instead he had to move. His eyes darted from Alice to Bentley, then back out the door Neyla left out of. 

“Get her to the blimp, Bentley!”

“Sly! The plan!” Bentley said, running up just as Sly bolted out the door. The turtle shook his head, looking down at Alice for the first time in months. The first thing he noticed was her eyes; wide yet calm, like nothing could phase her. Her familiar green eyes were not as vibrant anymore. They were more dull, more exhausted than he had ever seen them. As Bentley felt himself dwell on that fact he snapped out of it and started to inspect her pupils. 

“Bentley, what are you doing?” Alice forced out, squinting.

“Making sure you’re you,” he said, eyes scanning the room. “The baton?”

“They took it.” 

Bentley nodded, thinking. “Can you stand?”

Alice nodded and pushed herself up, looking dizzy still. Bentley watched her carefully as the two made it back to the window. Alice looked out, slightly surprised to see a blimp waiting for them.

“You guys have been busy.” 

“Yes…” Bentley said, thinking. “Alice, listen. I’m sorry it took so long-“

“Don’t do that.” she said, shaking her head. “How’s he been?” she asked, nodding toward the direction Sly chased Neyla down.

“He’s been… Consumed. You know he gets.” he explained, climbing onto the blimp first and reaching a hand out to Alice.

“That’s what concerns me.” she said, taking his hand and balancing carefully as she made it on. From the noises around her and the sound of gunfire Alice could feel herself start to lose touch, threatening to be torn from reality completely. Each shot made her flinch as she looked around frantically. Instead she focused on the cockpit at the end of the blimp and sat down against the wall.

She watched Bentley curiously as he looked at the sky around him, quickly running over to the turret and controls. The look on his face told Alice something was wrong. 

“Bentley, what is it?”

“We’re about to go under fire. Take cover.” he warned, looking up at the skies as multiple planes started to appear around the Contessa’s tower. Neyla must’ve called them. 

Shots rang out as Bentley fired back, shooting down each plane as they came. Alice felt her ears start to ring as she forced her eyes shut. The sound was so loud, pounding in her head as the noise threatened to piece her. There was screaming. Alice felt ungrounded, floating up-

Then it stopped.

“Alice!” Bentley exclaimed as her eyes snapped open, finding him sitting in front of her. “We’re okay. It’s over.”

“What was that screaming?”

He blinked slowly, slightly confused and concerned. “It was you.”

The two stared for a moment, interrupted by the feeling of the blimp shaking and a loud snap. Bentley looked up to find the remnants of a shock blast. 

“Merciful Hades!” Bentley exclaimed, running the railing and hitting a fist into the metal bar. “Sly! Carmelita shot out the guidance system on the blimp, and now were descending at a dangerous rate!”

Alice gripped the railing, closing her eyes as she felt the ship start to dart downward. She sat and braced for impact. The impact was a lot softer than she was expecting. A loud splash was heard along with the feeling of being sprayed by water. She finally opened her eyes to find they landed in the river, only a few feet away from the dock. 

“We’re alive?” Bentley questioned, looking around. “Alice, come on-”

The two climbed out of the blimp and onto the dock. Bentley went first, carefully helping Alice. That’s when they heard footsteps.

“Hands up,” Carmelita said firmly, looking between the two with her shock pistol trained on them. “Both of them!” 

“I was wondering where you went off to, Inspector.” Alice commented, looking between Bentley as she kept her hands gripped to her elbows.

“Have to admit,” Carmelita said to her, slightly shocked to see Alice up. “Glad you’re not dead.” 

“Ditto.” 

Carmelita studied Alice and Bentley for a moment, deciding on what she should do next. She then had a realization that pained her to do what she did next-

She lowered her pistol. “Just go.” she said, looking between the two. “It’s not like I can arrest you.”

Bentley put his hands down, glancing at Alice. “Do we have a rendezvous point?” she asked.

“We do.” Bentley said, glancing at Carmelita then back at Alice.

“Listen Inspector, if you need help getting out of Prague-“

“Alice-“

“I don’t need your help.” Carmelita snapped, shaking her head. “It's bad enough I have to run.”

Bentley paused for a moment, looking over at Alice concerned. “Our rendezvous is near the road out of town. We’ll wait five minutes, then we’re out.” he offered. Bentley could see where Alice was coming from. There was no harm in helping Carmelita Fox out of Prague due to her situation. 

Carmelita looked between the two, then shook her head. 

 “If you know what’s good for you, I’d leave Prague now and never come back.” 

Things didn't go exactly to plan, but the Contessa was beaten and Alice was rescued. Not to mention the Clockwerk eyes were finally in safe hands. The Contessa was arrested and brought to trial for the crimes she committed while working with Interpol. Their PR damage control went one step further by promoting Neyla, “the Hero of Prague,” to Captain. Carmelita, still on the outs with Interpol, had to run with the rest of us. To my surprise and eternal delight, I got to help one of my favorite policewomen escape from the cops. I had to push it all out of my mind. 

All of us took turns watching over Alice as she slept in the back of the van, tossing and turning the whole way. It pained us all to see her that way. Still, she insisted to Bentley she did not remember most of it. Yet we could tell she was still carrying some of what happened in Prague with her. I still felt heavy; somehow guilty about what she had been through. My fathers words repeated in my mind from the moment she was rescued, all those promises to protect eachother gone broken. 

This Klaww Gang business was spiraling out of control and the gang was in the center of it. We’d be back in action soon enough - but we knew Alice needed a moment to rest and heal her mind. So we just laid low for a while. 

Chapter Text

We followed the trail of spice shipments all the way to Nunavut Bay, Canada to the center of Jean Bison’s shipping empire. This guy had quite the back story; as a young man, he struck it rich during the Gold Rush of 1852. His luck quickly turned when he took some chances and found himself buried alive in an avalanche. Somehow the freeze kept him alive and 120 years later, thanks to global warming, he thawed out and entered a new world. Still, a product of his time he dreams of taming the Wild North. Shipping spice for the Klaww Gang proved to be a lucrative way to bankroll his one-man war against nature.

As we entered the Bay I couldn’t help but notice all of us attempting to find some feeling of normalcy. The Cooper Gang was back together, sure; but we were all still carrying the last few months with us. I couldn’t help but feel partly to blame. Sly and my friends worked hard to find me, and yet I felt like a stranger. A shadow of my former self. Due to my… Eventful last couple months, I was benched. Everyone in the gang, especially Sly, thought it best I stay out of the field for the time being. Once we left Prague Bentley insisted I was given a full work up; which is when he made the discovery that I suffered some sort of nerve damage in my shoulder. A side effect of being struck by lightning. There was no telling when it would heal, or if it ever would. 

I couldn’t help but hate all the eyes on me. I knew I couldn’t blame them, they were only worried, after all. But I did not love being treated like I’ll break any second. 

For now, our focus had to be Jean Bison: who had more than his share of Clockwerk parts. I’m not sure what worried me more; what a low tech guy like him could be doing with the parts, or why he had so many. 

As the Cooper Gang adjusted to the cold weather they found themselves navigating a new dynamic. Bentley was able to see it the most, the way Murray tried to make the normal jokes and yet his heart was not in it. He had a feeling his hippo friend may feel some guilt after Prague for the things far beyond his control. Alice has been pretending the last couple weeks that she hasn’t been kept up at night; haunted by whatever comes for her in her dreams. Ever since they made it to Canada it became overly obvious Alice was compensating, hoping to have things go back to normal with no avail. As for Sly, he has not looked at his sister much since they rescued her. Bentley still hasn’t been able to understand why. 

There was one thing Murray, Sly and Alice all had in common; they were all there. They were in the Contessa’s hands at one point, some longer than others. As much as Bentley wanted to help his friends he knew he would be no use. The only help they could get was from each other. 

Murray entered the hideout to find Bentley behind his computer with a furrowed brow and wrapped in a blanket. Alice sat next to him with a gray beanie on her head and a scarf wrapped around her neck. The Canadian weather was cold and unforgiving, and quite the adjustment for Bentley the most. The hippo entered with a familiar spunk that made Bentley smile slightly. Murray sat down with a bag of corn nuts, a smile present on his face as he watched his friends work. Bentley glanced at Alice, who sat watching the computer screen.

“What?” Alice asked, not moving her gaze. The last few weeks Alice had noticed the eyes on her; studying her like an animal in a cage. She knew it was a much different case when it came to her friends. It felt more like they were waiting for her to break. 

“Nothing.” he said in reply, shaking his head as Sly’s binocucom call came through. The feed popped onto the computer screen, making Alice, Murray, and Bentley jump out of their seats from what they were staring at. 

“That’s Jean Bison, Sly!” Bentley exclaimed, surprised they had already managed to come this close to the man only a day in town. 

“Looks like he didn’t see me.”

“Keep your head down and take a picture of those train routes. Should help our search.” Alice said, feeling a pair of eyes on her again. She pressed the mute button and turned to face him. “What, Bentley?!”

“Sorry, Alice.”

“You know what?” she said aloud, standing from her seat and taking her coat off from the chair. “I need some air.”

“Is that a good idea?” Murray asked Alice as she shook her head, feigning a smile. 

“I think it’s a fantastic idea.” she said, opening the safe house door. Without another word she left out the door. 

“Is she mad at us?”

“No, think this one’s my fault pal.” Bentley said, turning back toward the computer. The turtle scrunched up his forehead as he turned the channel volume up again. “Wait, he’s on the phone-“

“-the Blimp’s hypnotism wavelengths confirm the specs drawn up by the Contessa. And Dimitri, before his unfashioned capture-“

“Who is that?” Murray asked Bentley expectedly as the turtle thought. 

“Could be Arpeggio. Hypnotism, blimp?“

“Sounds like you’re missing some northern light electricity.”

“You’re correct, sir-“

“Bentley, I found the Iron Horse blueprints in a stuffed sea bass.” Sly’s voice whispered through, bringing Bentley back to the topic.

“Nice job, Sly.” Bentley said with satisfaction. “Then we will get to work on grabbing the others.”

“Should we worry about Al?” Murray asked Bentley, who nodded in agreement. “I can look for her.”

“Okay Murray, be careful.”

———

Alice had not realized how difficult readjusting to her life was going to be. After a bit of wandering she found herself atop the highest peak of Nunavut Bay, the cold winter air hitting her face as she studied the people down below. Her newly won freedom was a bit underwhelming. She may be out of Prague, out of the hands of the Contessa… Yet she still felt like a prisoner. She knew her friends mean well with their watchful gaze and limiting her excursions. She still couldn’t help but feel angry. She felt so angry she thought her chest would burst at certain moments. She hated the pity, the worried looks from her friends; so she decided to shut it all out. Now she’s on top of a mountain, contemplating what to do next. 

The ground below consisted of a main street of businesses for all the needs of the men occupying the lumber camp. Train tracks twisted and turned in multiple directions, some directed through caves away from the site. Multiple cabins lined the hills. From what Bentley said, Sly was currently in one.

A familiar ringing came through her ear piece, signaling Bentley was calling her. She sighed slightly as she picked up. 

“Listen, Bentley, I’m fine-“

“No, Alice, listen-“ Bentley started, sounding worried. Alice furrowed her eyebrows at his tone. “Carmelita Fox is in town. Murray went out to look for you and she got to him first.”

Alice stood up, eyes immediately scanning the area. “Oh no-”

“And I don’t know where she’s holding him!”  Bentley exclaimed, sounding frantic. “I haven’t heard from Sly either! Alice, I’m used to having all the facts!”

“Bentley, Sly’s probably fine. Let me take care of Carmelita. She’s not cruel… I’ll find Murray.” 

“Are you sure about this Alice?”

“Yeah, Inspector Fox may have grown a soft spot the last few months.” she said, thinking of the interactions she had with the Inspector.

“ Be careful. I don’t want to be alone again.” 

Bentley’s words tugged at her heart as she hung up the call. Alice made her way down the cliff, allowing a closer look at Carmelita. 

The vixen dawned a snow cap and winter jacket. She wore a hard look, strong and determined. Probably determined to catch every one of Alice’s friends to clear her name. Alice couldn’t help but feel bad for her; just in the last few months Carmelita Fox had not only been stripped from her title, but her life as well. Being a cop was everything to her. So in a way, Alice couldn’t help but understand what she was trying to do. As she watched Carmelita she noticed her looking over her shoulder a lot more.  

Probably a side effect of Prague. she thought. 

The paranoia could really wreak havoc on someone’s brain if they let it. Carmelita turned and started to walk up a hill that looked like it was leading nowhere. That is, until Alice spotted a large lock box and on top. 

“Bingo.” Alice whispered, watching as Carmelita stopped at the top of the hill and spoke. That’s where he is. Eventually she stopped talking and started to walk away, telling Alice she needed to move. She couldn’t let her spot her too close to where she’s keeping him. 

Carmelita Fox spotted Alice near the train tracks next to a cabin. When Carmelita laid her eyes on her she stopped for a moment. It has been the first time she saw her since Prague, and just by looking at her, she was different. She did not carry herself the same. Memories of their confinement surfaced; therefore, the memories of a friendship formed did as well.

Carmelita slapped the palm of her hand to her forehead. She knew what she had to do. Yet a part of her was still hesitant. Besides, technically… She’s still a wanted woman. Maybe the hippo will be enough. 

“What’s wrong Inspector Fox?” Alice said from where she sat on the cliff above her, noticing the vixen’s look. “You look like you saw a ghost.”

“Very funny.” Carmelita replied. “Why don’t you make this easy and stay out of my way?” 

“What, not going to slap some cuffs on me?”

“I’d much rather do that to your brother.”

“I’m sure you would.” Alice said, raising a brow at her. “Come on, Carmelita. You know I’ll get Murray out one way or another.”

“You know this is the only way for me to clear my name,  Cooper.” 

“It’s not the only way, I think.” Alice said, shrugging. “Restoration of some stolen Clockwerk Parts sounds pretty good. But that’s not my business. Anyways, catch you later Inspector-“

“Cooper!”

Alice swung her legs up over the cliff and moved, listening to the angry Inspector as she searched for a sign of her. She carefully moved along the hill and gave herself distance from Carmelita. Once she was sure she lost her, she made her way up to where Murray was being held captive. 

“Al!” Murray exclaimed as she ran up, making her put a finger to her lips to remind her friend to quiet down. 

“Hey pal, you okay?” Alice asked, inspecting the lock on the box he was in. 

“I’m getting a charlie horse sitting in here-“

“I’m not sure what that is.” Alice said. The lock was a combination lock. Luckily she’s had experience cracking these before; mainly back when they were kids, stealing contraband out of Ms. Puffin’s desk at the orphanage. Alice started to turn the dial, listening for a familiar click. 

The lock popped open, a slight grin coming over her face as she removed it. She opened up the door and allowed Murray to step out. 

“We better go before Inspector Watson comes back.” Alice said as Murray nodded quickly in agreement. The two quickly moved further away, finding themselves walking alongside the frozen river away from patrols. 

“Bentley said you came to find me.” Alice started off, looking over at Murray. 

“I figured I could help, I dunno.”

“I don’t need any help, Murray-“

“Ya know, when the guys came and got me out of the prison,” Murray said, starting to look a bit ashamed. “I was so out of it I didn’t recognize them. And I almost killed Sly.”

Alice stopped. She looked at Murray surprised, seeing the guilty look on his face. “They never told me that.”

“Think they might’ve thought it’d make things worse.” Murray shrugged as the two continued walking. “I dunno. But I felt really ashamed about it, I still do. But I know I wasn’t in the right place, and so do the guys. I guess my point is it’s okay to be in a bad place after something like that.”

Alice understood. She paused as she thought of what she wanted to say, looking over the frozen over lake at the dock. 

 “I feel like a burden, Murray.” Alice finally confessed as the two made it to the safehouse, stopping outside. “Like you guys can do this without me.”

“We’re a team.” Murray said, placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “We do this better with you. Nothing felt right without us all together.” 

Alice smiled slightly. “Thanks, Murr.” 

The two entered the safehouse, greeted by Sly and Bentley’s gaze. Bentley sat at the table behind his computer as Sly stood directly in front of him. The two looked like they just finished discussing something. 

“What happened?” Sly asked, looking between Alice and Murray. 

“Your girlfriends in town.” Alice said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat. 

“Looks like she finally caught up with us.” Sly said, looking over at Bentley. 

“Good, you’re caught up. Since she’s currently on the outs with Interpol Carmelita is the least of our problems.” he said, clicking on one of the binocucom photos Sly took and switching on his projector. “Not only that, Sly overheard something interesting: Arpeggio has the Clockwerk brain.”

“Ew.” Alice said, cringing slightly.

“What would he do with a brain?” Murray asked as Sly shrugged. 

“Probably nothing good.” 

“It’s good to know, but one thing at a time.” Bentley said, pointing to the photos displayed on the projector screen. “Bison’s three Clockwerk parts are powering the trains: the lungs and the stomach.”

“Those trains will never stop with those parts.” Alice commented, making Bentley nod.

“Precisely. Luckily, in those cabins Bison had the train route blueprints. Unluckily, we won’t have the luxury of sneaking in while the trains are stopped.” Bentley explained, as he clicked on a picture of an invoice order. “Bison is scheduled to receive a spice shipment via air balloon within the hour. We all remember the explosive tendencies the spice carries…” Bentley switched to a photo of the spice grinder exploding in India. “Collecting enough of it should let us blow the lid off the caboose. Then I’ll enter and we will have our first Clockwerk part within a few hours.” 

“Sounds easy enough.” Murray said, crossing his arms as his friends nodded in agreement. 

“Can you pull up the map Bentley?” Alice asked, as the map of the town popped up on the screen. Alice sat up and pointed to a spot in the center. “You’ve probably seen this pillar by now, but it’ll probably be your best place to start collecting the spice gas. It’s the highest peak in town.” She looked at Sly as she spoke and he studied the map. 

“If we leave now, we’d be done by lunch!” Murray exclaimed with a toothy grin. Alice smiled at that. 

“You heard the man.” Sly said, picking his cane up from where it leaned against the table. “Let’s go, big guy.”

Chapter Text

“I love you so much, more than you could know

The Christmas Kids, were nothing but a gift.”

“One more caboose, try not to get blown up.”

“Your words are always so encouraging, Al.” Sly commented, eyeing the ground below as Murray lifted the plane into the air. 

“And where do you think I learned that from?” Alice replied, equally as sarcastic as her older brother. 

Sly jumped from the plane, landing onto one of the balloons and causing it to combust. The gas chamber strapped to his back filled up halfway as he was launched back into the air.

He hit one more balloon, then allowed himself to get lower to the ground. Sly landed on the caboose of the last train and quickly ditched the gas chamber. As the raccoon jumped off, he could hear the sound of the hatch shattering.

“Nice work. I’ll head out once you and Murray get back.” Bentley piped in, glancing over at Alice.

“You’re in luck; this one has relatively light security.” Alice commented, studying the schematics of the inside of the train. “Besides the blood thirsty guards that would break your neck given the chance.”

 Bentley raised an eyebrow, facing Alice now. “You’re in a cynical mood today.”

“Hey, you guys benched me. I need my entertainment somewhere.”

“It’s for your own good.” Sly said, making Alice realize the two left the binocucom channel open. 

“Mhm, I just know you’re loving this.”

“Sure am.” he replied as Alice rolled her eyes, closing the channel once again. She looked over at Bentley.

“Has he talked to you much?”

She looked back toward the monitor, watching as she thought. “He’s barely looked at me.”

“I think he’s going through something. You know how he likes to shut down on jobs like this.” Bentley replied, trying to sound somewhat assuring. 

Alice said nothing as she kept her gaze on the monitor, thinking. Bentley was right, of course: Sly was the same way when they went off against the Fiendish Five. And that was when their relationship changed. Alice thought being back with her family would help fill the hole that’s gotten bigger since she left Prague. Instead, she felt like more of an outsider. What made it worse is she didn’t know how to fix it - or ask for help. 

“Anyone hungry?” Murray asked as the door opened, making Alice and Bentley look over in his direction. Sly followed in with a small grin on his as Murray said that. 

“Yeah Murray, let’s go pick something up while these two hang out.” Alice said, getting up from her seat with a grin as Sly’s smile faded. His eyes dart between Bentley and Alice. 

“You sure Alice?” 

She glanced back, seeing her brother’s unsure look. “You can ban me from missions,” Alice said, rolling her eyes. “But you can’t ban me from going outside. Let’s go, Murr.”

She left out the door, Murray glancing between his friends awkwardly. Sly looked over at Bentley. 

“Do you think that’s a good idea?”

“I think we should let her make her own decisions in some aspects.” he said as Murray followed Alice out the door. “I get you’re worried, but she has Murray.”

“I’m not worried.” Sly replied, crossing his arms and looking toward the door.

“Then what is it?”

He paused, unsure. Then he looked back at Bentley. “She’s different.”

“I’m sure anyone would be after what she’s been through.” he said, studying Sly carefully. He appeared fidgety; shifting his weight as he stood. Like there was something bothering him, something on the tip of his tongue that he wanted to say. “Sit Sly, they’ll be back soon.”

“Nah, I’m good.” 

Bentley sighed, turning back toward his laptop as he pulled up their next plan. 

———-

Alice and Murray returned within the hour; bringing hot soup and bread in hand. It was the perfect cure to the cold weather. Bentley was quick to eat what he wanted, determined to make a move on the first train as soon as he could. 

Alice sat with her eyes on the computer monitor before her, watching as Bentley made his way through the first iron horse train. The only sound in the room was a faint beeping from the monitor and the occasional slurp coming from Murray as he took a bite. Sly sat and watched the monitor as well, not touching the half eaten food in front of him. 

“You going to finish that?” Murray asked Sly, who only shook his head and slid the bowl over. 

“Knock yourself out. Did Bentley say anything about what’s next?” Sly asked, looking over at Alice mainly.

“Nope.” she said, popping the p noise as she did not move her gaze. Sly narrowed his eyes, picking up on his sister’s cold shoulder. 

“What’s your problem?” he asked nonchalantly, making Alice look back at him and glare. 

“Excuse me?”

“Guys-“ Murray said, picking up on the tense air between the two. “Maybe I should go-“

“No, Murray, it’s fine.” Alice said, looking back at the computer. She could feel her anger subside slightly. What’s my problem? She thought with spite, shaking her head. He’s getting on my nerves by the day. 

“Okay guys, we’re one Clockwerk part down.” Bentley’s voice dialed through as Alice held down the button for her end of the microphone.

“Nice work. Head on back and we can work on the next.” Alice replied, followed by a low beep from the computer, signaling that Bentley closed the binocucom channel once again. Silence surrounded the three once again, Alice feeling even further away from everyone than before.

Chapter Text

“Cause in the end, you are part of who I am.”

Alice studied Sly as he approached the rendezvous point, eyes trained down at the Clockwerk Eyes in hand. He did not look dazed; even, he looked focused. Like an ever turning clock that would never stop.

“Where is she?” Alice asked him seriously. Sly did not look up.

“You don’t have to worry about her anymore.”

“Sly-“ she tried as Sly pushed past her and ducked into the van. Alice looked back at Bentley unsure.

Alice woke up with a gasp, causing Bentley to look over from where he sat. It was getting dim outside, telling the two they were running out of daylight.

“You okay?” Bentley asked, as Alice said nothing. She looked around as her breathing slowed and she was reminded she was right where she needed to be.

“Where are they?”

“Well, Murray’s becoming one with nature currently-“

“One with nature?”

Bentley smiled at that as Alice let herself become consumed with a thought. It’s been three weeks since they left Prague and she was out of her confinement. She’s unsure if the guys had noticed; but she hasn’t been sleeping well since. Each time she falls asleep she’s woken by a new dream. The one she just had told her she’s getting closer to Prague; threatening to bring back the nightmares she had in the Contessa’s hands, which scared her. 

“You sure you’re okay?” Bentley asked, noticing Alice disassociating.

“Just peachy, Bentley. Now what is Murray doing with nature?”

“He’s trapping some of the bear cubs in a handcar lock so the mother bear destroys it.” Bentley explained, making Alice scrunch up her face in confusion.

“So you’re reenacting a nature documentary?”

“Basically.” he shrugged. “But it’ll pay off. Sly’s on the next train. He said Carmelita’s still in town.”

“Yeah, she doesn’t have anywhere to go.” Alice replied. “I kind of feel bad for her.”

“We all lost something. Hopefully things will turn up.” Bentley said, looking back to his computer. “Listen, I don’t mean to pry-“

“Then don’t.”

“We’ve noticed you haven’t been sleeping. And that you’re forgetting things.” Bentley said, ignoring her response. “You can pretend it’s not happening all you like. We just want to-“

“Bentley-“

“Let me ask you this,” he asked, looking over Alice with a certain seriousness she had never seen before. “Are you sure you’re ready to be back in the field?” 

Alice’s ears perked up. The fact that he was asking meant he was considering it. She wondered if her opinion would make any difference.

“Yes.” Alice said simply. Bentley thought for a moment, then nodded. 

“You’ll stay with Sly the whole time.” he stated, a stern look in his eyes that reminded Alice of her brother. She rolled her eyes.

“Sure he will love that.”

“He’ll have to.” he stated. With that, Alice felt lighter; a certain sense of purpose returning to her. “But, there’s a catch-“

“Here we go-“ 

“If you’re not going to talk to us about it, at least write it down somewhere.” Bentley said, a serious look in his eye. “Please, Alice.”

“Sounds riveting.” she replied, slightly displeased at the ultimatum. “What would I even write about?”

“I don’t know, your day?” Bentley shrugged. “Your feelings? Anything you want.”

Alice nodded. She paused, taking in a breath as she found the nerve to say what’s on her mind.  “I haven’t been sleeping because of the dreams…“

“Oh?” Bentley asked, daring her to continue. She shook her head, adverting her eyes from the turtle. 

“When I close my eyes, I’m back in that room-“ Alice started, pausing at the thought that was forming in her head. She pursed her lips. “I don’t know.”

“Well, at least we’re starting somewhere.”

——

Sly pushed himself to the top of the train car, flinching slightly at the ice cold air hitting his face. Just as Bentley promised the top was clear; only the remnants of missile  launchers that once guarded the caboose. From his position Sly could see the camp clearly. As he zoomed by he spied numerous trees outlining the camp and its mountains, snow covering the area like a white blanket. Guards walked the area nearby; looking much more awake than the ones inside the train. The last train car Sly found the men half asleep, smelling of liquor as they struggled to keep their eyes open. 

A familiar beep queued through his ear just then. “Looks like you’re almost to the front.” Bentley’s voice came through. 

“Yeah, a friend of mine made that real easy for me.” he replied, glancing over at the turrets. “Murray still out?”

“He just finished up. Alice woke up from another nightmare.” Bentley said, causing Sly to pause at that comment. Worry crept back into his chest briefly as he cleared his throat. 

“She okay?”

“As okay as she will confess.” Bentley sighed. “I don’t know, I think she’s still understanding it. Only reason why I mention it is because she will be coming with us on the operation.”

As he said that Sly dropped down between the two cabooses, surprised at the revelation. “I’m not sure if that’s a good idea.”

“It’s not up to you.” Bentley said simply. “I’m not a fan of any of this either, Sly, but it was her choice. We have to let her still make her own choices.”

“She’s not in the right state of mind to be making that type of decision-“ Sly started to argue, watching his surroundings carefully to make sure he’s not drawing attention. “She shouldn’t be on her own so soon.”

“Good thing she won’t be. She’s your shadow on the train.” Bentley replied. “Do us both a favor, and try to refrain from saying that to her face?”

Sly rolled his eyes, looking forward now. One more train car, then he will have the part in hand. “When did you become so invested in my relationship with my sister?”

“When you became uninvested.” Bentley said plainly. “The two of you have gone through a lot the past couple of years. Neither of you still haven’t found the end of it; so I’m just trying to make sure you do, okay?”

Sly pinched the bridge of his nose, sighing at the turtles comment. He couldn’t help but feel thankful he had Bentley. If he couldn’t patch up his relationship with his sister, then at least had someone who could watch out for her in the meantime. Like he said; it was only a matter of time the two of them found the end of the dark tunnel they’re trapped in. 

“Yeah, I get it… Thanks.”

“Don’t mention it.” Bentley replied, changing the subject. “Get back to the safe house in one piece, then we can talk about the operation.” 

Chapter Text

“You got this, big guy!” 

“No… train car…. is a match… for the Murray! ” Murray bellowed as the car sped up, allowing Alice and Sly enough room to jump on board. For a moment everything felt normal - the familiar adrenaline returning as Alice watched Sly jump aboard a moving train. It almost felt like the last few months didn’t happen. 

Sly held a hand out to his sister, signaling it was her turn to follow. She kicked off the train car and grabbed hold of the canopy, feeling Sly’s hand on her back to make sure she had her balance. The two pulled themselves over the train car as gusts of wind hit them in the face. Carefully the two started walking over, and lowered themselves onto the lower platform. They were then faced with a traincar; one guarded by two large moose. 

“It looks like we could get behind them.” Alice commented, keeping her voice low as the two studied them from afar. “We can take them at the same time.”

“You sure?” Sly asked, making Alice look back at him. She knew what he was asking: can you handle it? She rolled her eyes, moving forward to get into position. 

 Sly came up behind one, using his cane to bring his opponent to the ground. Alice whipped out her baton and swung hard, the long stick colliding with the moose’s head. With the train car now silent, Alice and Sly made their way outside.

With the next train car locked and no ladder to get them over, the two were left with the task of inching along the side of the train car. As Alice started to move she spoke. 

“Listen, I get that you’re going through your own thing-,” she said, looking where she was placing her feet. She made it off the car, now looking back at her brother as he inched around the corner. “But I can’t go on like we are. So if you can stop looking at me like I’m walking around wounded,” Alice looked at him seriously, then grabbed hold of the ladder to the next car. “I can begin to stop acting like it.”

Sly let her words sink in, but only for a moment; as Alice made it to the top of the train car bullets flew. She jumped quickly; almost falling into Sly and off the side of the train. Her brother held onto her as they gained their balance, looking up for the source of their near death experience. An annoyingly familiar cackle filled the air. 

“Little Cooper came out to play!” Neyla shouted, hovering over the train car. “I’ve been wondering where you went off to! Just can’t stay away from these Clockwerk parts, can you?”

“Oh, that little-“Alice cringed, Sly looking up and watching for Neyla. 

“Oh, we do it for the excitement. Wouldn’t have this much fun sitting at home-“ Sly started back sarcastically, Neyla laughing. His grip loosened on his sister as she thought of what to do next. 

“If you want some excitement, why don’t you hop onto the train? I can finish off your sister, then you!”

“Nah, we’re good Neyla. Think we’ve seen enough.” Alice shouted back, crossing her arms and leaning against the train car.

“What’s the matter, pookie? Want to call up your little friends?” Neyla taunted, Alice rolling her eyes and pressing a finger to her ear piece.

“You hear that, little friend?” Alice asked, Sly tuning into the channel himself.

“Neyla’s got us pinned down. Any chance of air support?” Sly asked.

“Already launched the RC chopper. She won’t know what hit her!”

As he said that a small chopper zoomed by, followed my the sound of bullets and tearing metal. Neyla could be heard yelling as she fought off Bentley’s assault.

“No offense, but I don’t think now is the best time for a heart to heart.” Sly said over the sound of the fight occurring above them, making Alice scoff. 

“You’re a real ass sometimes Sly, you know that?”

“What? What am I supposed to say-“ he exclaimed back, making Alice stare at him for a moment in disbelief. 

“You never say anything!” she exclaimed at him, as he opened his mouth to argue back. 

“We haven’t had a moment to think in weeks, Al-“ he spat.

“You don’t even look at me! I’ve been-“ she continued, not listening to what he had to say. Anger had overcome the two of them in the matter of seconds, yelling over each other and the sound of bullets flying above them. 

“Has it occurred to you that there’s more important-“

 “-trying to talk to you since Prague, but you still look at me like I’m this broken thing you’re obligated to take care of!”

Just as she said that the sound of a loud pop rang out, followed by the sight of Neyla’s ship losing power. “Why you outa-“ she yelled, as the ship brought her behind the train. “OH NO!”

“Fancy flying, little friend.” Alice said in the binocucom channel, seemingly calmer now. Sly couldn’t help but stare daggers at his sister. 

“Whatever you say, pookie.”

“Guys! I’d grab that stomach fast, this train car is starting to fall apart!” Murray said, sounding a bit out of breath and panicked. Alice went up the ladder first with Sly shortly behind.

Then, there it was at the front of the train - Clockwerk’s stomach attached to the coal pit, contracting like a beating heart. Despite its age the stomach looked just as new as the other parts they’ve gathered. With each contraction the stomach sucked in on itself, the metal caving in as it worked to run the train. It was a bit unsettling to watch. 

“Heads up, I’ll drop a bomb down the chimney-“ Bentley said just as the RC chopper zoomed up, dropping a metal ball down. Alice and Sly stood at the edge of the car as the bomb went off, knocking the stomach loose.

“You guys okay?”

“I’ve got a sore stomach on my hands but-“ Sly said, walking over and picking up the metal part with a large heave. “I feel great.” Sly couldn’t help but let pride take over slightly; the team managed to pull off robbing not one, but three trains in 24 hours: all while shutting down Lord’s Malice shipment in North America. 

“Glad you feel great. Now, can we get off this thing, please?”

We managed to pull off something monumental - We successfully robbed all of Jean Bison’s iron horse trains and are walking away with 3, count them 3 Clockwerk Parts. And as a bonus, we shut down the distribution of the Lords Malice in North America. Despite everything, we were feeling pretty pleased with ourselves. I can’t say the same for Carmelita. Once again, the framed policewoman had to evade the cops. I know Sly was having his fun with it but I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her. What if they put someone else on our case? I wouldn’t want another cop on our tail. I wasn’t her biggest fan at first; but with our time spent in captivity, I’ve come to realize she isn’t as bad as I thought. Sooner or later I hope her name can be cleared when all this is over. Preferably not by placing all of us under arrest. 

Chapter Text

Things just were not going well in Canada. Random acts of violence were popping up all over the area and the Northern Lights, well, just weren’t right. There’s more nights they’re gone then they’re here. In Nunavut Bay Sly overhead Jean Bison and Arpeggio talk - we knew that those two had something to do with it. Tracking Jean Bison to his new local was easy - by simply following the lights and cut down trees we were led to an immense lumber camp. According to some rumors and the number of cut trees we were informed Jean Bison was in possession of the Clockwerk Talons. It’s been some time since I’ve touched the Thievius Raccoonus, which I’m sure has made numerous references to the sharp claws. I’m sure a skilled lumberjack like Bison could find an effective use for the artifact. Either way the talons have got to go, both to get rid of Clockwerk and Bison’s twisted sense of progress. 

As the Cooper Gang rolled further into town they started to notice an abundance of trees gone; the only thing left behind were stumps sticking out of the ground. The sound of trains could be heard in the distance, along with smoke billowing up and polluting the air. Alice hung her head forward and watched as Murray drove. The van was awfully silent; each member of the gang taking in the sight and preparing for a mission. 

They located an old abandoned cabin on the outskirts of Bison’s camp as a hideout. A light burnt smell filled the air and the town was full of noise. Bentley sat and studied his laptop as Sly looked out the window, studying the area.

“I’m gonna take a wild guess,” Sly said, turning back towards the group. “And say that the cabin with the big skull is where Jean Bison hides out.”

“I think that’s a safe assumption, Paul Bunyan.” Alice replied, turning her head to Bentley. “Any ideas to draw him out?”

“Well, Bison is throwing something called the Lumberjack Games. An ancient tradition, I guess.” he explained, looking upwards at his friends. “And guess what the grand prize is? The Clockwerk talons.”

“The talons? I bet those would cut through anything.” Murray piped in, opening up one of the boxes and digging through it. 

“Precisely, Murray. He fashioned the talons into an axe, so it’s a prestigious prize.” Bentley said, eyebrows scrunching up in concentration. “This place isn’t on any of my maps, so we will have to poke around a bit.”

 “This Lumberjack games,” Alice asked aloud. “Do we have any idea what it entails?” 

“Nothing for sure. Let’s start with what we know,” Bentley said, looking up at his friends. “Arpeggio’s blimp is on its way to pick up a Northern Light Battery from Jean Bison. And if we want any chance at getting the Clockwerk brain, we need to get aboard the ship.”

“We have a lot to accomplish in a little time.” Sly said, which made Bentley look over.

“That’s why both of you,” he said, pointing to Sly and Alice. “Will divide and conquer-“

“Finally-“ Alice started, a slight grin as Sly moved to object.

“I’ve been doing this awhile Bentley, I think I can handle it.” Sly said as his sister narrowed his eyes and Bentley shook his head.

“Like you said, we have a lot to accomplish in a little time. This will make it go faster.” he said. “Sly will go to the lighthouse. My scanners are going off the charts with the amount of energy it’s consuming...”

“Sure, I can head that way.” Sly said, moving toward the door when Bentley spoke.

“Sly- take a lot of pictures. I’ll be in touch.” he added as his friend nodded, leaving the hideout. “As for you,” he turned to Alice, who looked at the turtle expectedly. “Head for the sawmill. Get to know the area.” 

“Sure, simple enough.” Alice said, standing up and grabbing her snow hat off the table. She then grabbed her scarf, wrapping it around her neck as she left. 

The camp was full of noise; high pitched grinding and sawing filling the area, announcing the destruction of trees in the area. Bison’s guards were seen in the distance patrolling the area and looking for trouble. Alice took mental note to avoid the big ones as best she could, especially with the weakness still present in her shoulder. 

The sawmill was near the ocean, which was surprisingly not completely frozen. Boats sat near the oceans edge, equipped with pulleys. Alice took out her binocucom and took a photo of the sawmill blades. 

Those blades are rusty. Alice thought, lowering the camera. This camp has probably been here awhile.

She then directed her attention to the boats, taking another photo. Just as she did so the binocucom channel queued in.

“That’s interesting, my sensors are picking up a wi-if signal from that boat.” Bentley said, making Alice furrow her brow.

“What use does Jean Bison have for wifi?” Alice asked. “The boats also have pulleys.”

“Just means it must be piloted by a computer.” Bentley added. “Still, could be useful. Al, I’m picking up a slight radio signature near you… Take a look.”

A beep came from her binocucom then, which is when Alice took a glance to see a red dot on the screen. She glanced behind her, seeing a bear roaming near town. 

“Geez, another one?” Alice said, taking a photo of the bear.

“It is bear country after all.” Bentley said. “Interesting, he’s where the radio signature is coming from. Must be so the guards can track him.”

“Bold to assume the bear’s a him, Bentley.” 

A sigh could be heard on the other end, which made Alice smile slightly. She could imagine the turtle grinning and rolling his eyes.

Alice moved on, eyeing Jean Bison’s house in the distance. As she looked around she found herself on the other end of the sawmill, near a large icy wall. She could see something in the wall, in fact, looking closer to see-

“Gah!” she exclaimed, realizing she was face to face with a frozen mammoth. The creature had its mouth slightly open, exposing its sharp teeth. It’s eyes were wide and bulging, as if it realized its fate when it became too late. It was sad to see.

That’s when she saw the book frozen in the wall. Looking closer, she could see a title:

The Lumberjack Games: 1962

“Perfect.” she said, smiling as she knocked a fist against the frozen ice. She looked at the mammoth. “Looks like it’s your lucky day.”

Chapter Text

“Well, Jean Bison unknowingly threw down the gauntlet.” Bentley said as his projector whirled to life, displaying a mix of the photos Sly took in the lighthouse and Alice took of the camp. “I think we’d be fools not to enter these Lumberjack games. Thanks to Alice,” Bentley said, displaying the photo of the book and the mammoth frozen in the ice wall. “We found a book written on these games. So we have a way to study up.”

“How are we going to put a dent in that wall?” Sly asked, looking between his friends. “We don’t have the tools, or means-“

“We don’t, but they do.” Bentley said, throwing up a picture of one of the logging cabins on the end of the camp. “This is where the wood goes before it goes through the saw mill. Industrial grade lasers are used to cut through petrified logs. With some work, we can probably redirect it.”

“Sounds tedious.” Alice commented.

“It will be. As for our issue with finding a way to get aboard the blimp, we should pull a Trojan Horse.”

“A what?” Murray asked, confused.

“Stowaway inside the empty battery.” Alice explained, looking over at Murray. She then looked at Bentley. “Once we find it, that is.”

“That’s when you come in, pal.” Bentley said, looking over at Murray. “You’ll infiltrate the guard’s secret RC combat club. Those guys work in the lighthouse and go there in the evenings. If you win against them and get their respect, they’ll probably talk.”

“Don’t worry Bentley, I’ve been told I have sparking charisma.” Murray replied, a toothy grin on his face. Alice smiled slightly at that, a little confused.

“Did they mean sparkling , big guy?”

Murray shrugged as Bentley continued with his presentation. “Still, we need to be careful Murray. Jean Bison is not a fool, so we will need to bug his house. Which is where Sly comes in… By stealing radio tags off sleeping bears.” 

Bentley said the last part hesitantly. Alice and Murray’s eyes widened as they looked to Sly for his reaction. 

“Sure Bentley, right after I learn how to swim.” Sly said sarcastically. “What if I wake them up?”

“I suggest against that. Bears are thankfully heavy sleepers. You’ll just need to be quiet, and you’re the least clumsy out of all of us.” 

“He’s right about that.” Alice shrugged. The amount of incidents in their Paris hideout could attest to that; and the amount of replacement cooking bowls.

“If we have any hope of getting all this done,” Bentley said, looking between Sly and Alice. “I suggest you two get going. Your start points have been uploaded to your binocucoms. Murray, you’ll head out in a couple hours. Al, one more thing before you leave-“

Without another word Sly went out into the cold air, finding the location of the bear cave marked on his binocucom. According to the red dot on the screen it was located near the frozen lake. As Sly approached the lake he couldn’t help but feel anxiety form in his chest; and it was not due to the fact he was about to enter a cave full of bears. It was for his friends and what they were about to start messing with. Even if they get caught now, there’s no doubt it wouldn’t end well for them, or even Paris. This Arpeggio was up to something. Constructing a blimp unknowably large, and Northern Light energy: what would need to be powered by that?

“Looks like you’re at the entrance, Sly.” Bentleys voice came through, drawing him out of his thoughts. “Figured we should talk outside it. To not wake the bears, you know.”

“Thanks pal, almost forgot about that part.” he said sarcastically. “How many of these radio tags do I need?”

“Four should be enough to get the job done.” he replied, some typing being heard from the other end of the line. 

“Should be easy.” he said, trying to sound optimistic. 

“The bears have all been tagged with collars around their necks. You should be able to unhook them easily.” 

“Alright. If you don’t hear from me in ten minutes,” Sly said with a sigh, readying to enter the cave. “I might be dead.”

“You got this, pal.”

Sly smiled slightly at that, crouching down to make his way through the opening. The inside of the cave was surprisingly humid. Five bears laid throughout the inside, breathing heavily as they slept. Sly’s heart rate started to climb as he carefully moved inside. 

This is some type of punishment, right? Sly thought as he approached the first bear, studying the collar carefully before he attempted the first swipe. The universe is trying to tell me something, maybe that this is all one big mistake-

He unhooked the first collar, and carefully pulled one strap out from under the bear. As Sly pocketed the first collar he almost wanted to blow a sigh of a relief. 

Three to go. 

Alice found herself in the center of the lumber camp, jimmyrigging a window open as an attempt to get inside the saw mill. As she forced the window open the inside noise spilled out into the area, making Alice look around to make sure she wasn’t drawing attention. She then climbed inside and shut the window again. 

“Great, both of you are making good time.” Bentley said as a familiar beep rang in Alice’s ear, signaling the binocucom channel opening up. 

“Yeah?” Alice asked, taking in the new area. She stood on a loft in the sawmill, watching logs be cut left and right. From where she stood flashlights could be seen, signaling she wasn’t alone. Guards and workers alike rushed throughout the sawmill. “So where’s this laser?”

“Not far from your position, actually.” Bentley said, sounding encouraging. “In fact, right on the other side of the wall to your right.”

Alice looked over, seeing the wall her friend was talking about. I should probably stay off the floor. She thought, glancing between the bustling area and her goal.

“Thanks Bentley, might take some doing but I’m sure I can find away.”

“Good luck.”

Bentley closed the channel as Alice smiled slightly, the gears turning in her mind as she thought. Finally, I can do something to help. She thought, a familiar thrill in her chest. Maybe they’ll finally see I can handle it.  

As Alice moved forward, she noticed the loft she stood in lined the outskirts of the sawmill. If she moved through the whole thing, she would be bound to end up on the other end, therefore to the laser. 

A crackling filled the area, as a familiar voice came over the intercom of the sawmill. “Attention all you fellas workin the sawmill. Make sure you keep a steady watch - a prowlers been spotted!”

Great. Alice thought. He knows we’re here.

Alice tuned out the announcement as she began to plan out her route through the sawmill. 

——

Once Sly exited the bear cave he felt like he could breathe again; figuratively and literally. As he caught his breath a beep came through his ear piece, signaling the binoucom channel opening up. 

“Only you could’ve pulled that off.” Bentley said, sounding impressed. Sly smiled at that, letting the compliment boost his spirit. “Now time to build the receiver array. Place a tag atop Jean Bison’s house, the safehouse, the sawmill, and the silo.” 

“Sounds like the easiest part.” he said, walking up the pathway near the safehouse. 

“Defintely. You and Al should be done around the same time, then we can talk about whats next.”

“Yeah, Bentley-“ Sly asked, thinking of asking what he had on his mind. “How sure are we about all of this?”

“How do you mean, Sly?”

“I don’t know, this is all getting pretty… Serious.” he said, choosing his words carefully. “I’d understand if you were hesitant-“

“Sly-“ Bentley interrupted, picking up on his doubt in the situation. “This goes deeper then Clockwerk. He’s not just threatening you guys, he’s threatening the world. Let me ask you this, would you be able to live with yourself if you left it alone?”

Sly stopped, letting the line go silent as he looked over the snowy landscape. Bentley had a point. “You’re right,” he said finally. “Thanks.”

Chapter Text

A sinister laugh echoed throughout the room as her vision focuesed. Through blurred vision Alice could see the silhouette of the Contessa, walking over to her work station. 

“You’ve been fighting sleep our last few sessions,” the Contessa said, readying another syringe with the Lord’s Malice. She flicked the syringe as she turned. “You know you have no control here, dear.”

“Might as well make it harder for you.” Alice mumbled weakly. She could feel her eyes threatening to shut and they had not even started.

“I’ll just keep adjusting your dose!” the Contessa exclaimed, almost as if it was the most simple answer. “Either way the results are the same. It’ll always be inside you, Cooper. The insecurity, the resentment… It’s what makes you the perfect subject-“

“Do I really have to listen to you monologue again?” Alice spat out, causing the Contessa to look toward her and narrow her eyes. She sighed and let out a tsk.

“Oh, Cooper…” the Contessa said almost pitifully. “Your stubbornness is really quite surprising. Still, it’s what will end up getting you in the end. Even if you left now you will be a shadow of your former self-“

Alice woke up with a jolt, sitting up on her cot as her heart threatened to beat out of her chest. This was her first dream of her time in Prague: bringing back up the memories she had buried the last month. Guess it was time to face it. 

Alice’s eyes traveled to where the Theivius Raccoonus sat on the center table. Sly and Bentley both slept on their respective cots next to it as Murray’s snoring filled the room. She stood up and walked over, touching a hand to the ancient book. 

“A deals a deal,” she mumbled, sitting down and flipping the book open to the most recent entry. She immediately recognized Sly’s handwriting; his most recent entry dictating their time in Paris, taking down Dimitri. He hasn’t wrote in here for a long time. She thought, finding the fact odd. There were plenty of instances either Alice or Bentley had to drag him away from the book. Alice took out a pen, then started to write. 

It’s been a long time since our last entry, so let’s recap - 

We’ve been chasing the Klaww Gang for a while now - leading us from India to Prague, now to Canada. A lot has happened since then. Somehow, we’ve managed to come out the other end of it with eight Clockwerk parts in our possession. It’s all a very interesting story on how we got the parts back, I’m sure; too bad I cannot remember any of it.

From what Bentley told me, we were betrayed in India by Constable Neyla. Then Rajan attacked and caused the injury to my shoulder. Next thing I knew, Sly, Murray, Carmelita and I were in the back of a police van. 

Carmelita was framed and the four of us were incapacitated. We were transported to Prague, where the Contessa sent us off to separate parts of the prison to begin our “conditioning.” I’m left with faint memories- 

Alice sat down the pen, pausing to think about what she wrote. As she was writing she could feel the panic rise up, vivid memories of Prague flashing through her mind. She wished for anything else to take its place, any other thought to be powerful enough to push it all away. 

A tear rolled down her cheek as she set her gaze forward, looking at the sleeping figures of her friends before her. Can’t blame a girl for trying. She thought. It was nearly morning, and if she’s lucky, Alice hoped to get a bit more sleep.  

———

Alice stood outside the light house, leaning against the wall with her eyes shut briefly. Sly, Bentley, and Murray have been inside for some time. She could hear a slight whirling inside, quickly cut off by a large thump. The silence made her open her eyes when the door opened. 

“Battery charger is crippled.” Bentley said as Murray and Sly followed him. 

“Great, now we can work on the battery.” Alice said. 

“Your part is done for the moment, you two can head back to the safe house for now. I suggest taking another look at the Lumberjack Games book to study up.” Bentley said to Sly and Murray, who gave a quick nod. 

“Don’t worry, winning the Lumberjack Games will be like taking candy from a baby!” Murray said enthusiastically.

“Love the enthusiasm, pal.” Sly said with a smile, patting a hand on his friend’s back as the two turned in the direction of the safehouse. “Stay safe you two.”

“Thanks to Murray we know the battery is in the silo,” Bentley said, referencing Murray’s undercover work in the RC combat club. Bentley nodded in the direction of the silo, which sat perched on a hill next to a warehouse. “You can stay in position atop the silo. Those boats are equipped with grapple hooks. If you catch one and attach it to the top of the silo, the distribution of electricity from the boat should short out the Northern Light energy. Be warned, I’d jump off quick.”

“Sounds… Sciencey.” Alice said, tilting her head to the side and looking down at Bentley. “How do we plan on cheating the Lumberjack Games?”

“I’ve been meaning to speak to you about that,” Bentley said, stopping to look at Alice. “I was thinking you should stay at the safehouse-“

“You’re benching me again?”

“That’s not what this is, Alice, it’s for our safety.” Bentley said sincerely. “If we get made, we need someone who could try to get us out. Jean Bison does not know our faces but he knows there’s a third player in this game we’re playing with the Klaww Gang. We have to anticipate his suspicion.” 

“You’re right.” she said, unable to argue. Alice looked up toward the silo. “I’ll head up, then.”

Bentley nodded as the two went their separate ways; Alice up the hill and Bentley to the lake. It didn’t take long for the two to finish their work and the battery was drained. Now it was only a matter of time until the Lumbjack games started. 

Bentley made sure the three of them knew what to do. Murray would compete in the log chopping competition; his strength and knowledge from the guide would serve him well. Bentley planned on participating in the log rolling event, and Sly in the wall climb. Their plans of cheating were a bit blurry, however; the most they could do is throw off Bison’s score so bad in the log rolling event and hope for the best. Despite their confidence they had their shroud of doubts. 

Alice sat leaned back in a chair of the safehouse waiting to hear from anyone. Everyone thought it best to give her check ins; something about allowing more concentration on the competition. Luckily the safehouse allowed the perfect view of the event taking place, which allowed Alice to keep a watchful eye on her friends. 

A loud thump could be heard from outside followed by yelling. Alice sat back up, immediately looking out the large window toward the competition. What she saw made her heart start beating fast: one by one, each of her friends were being picked up by one of Bison’s large guards. Sly, Bentley, and Murray seemed to be unconscious.

“What the hell happened? ” Alice exclaimed. Outside the safe house voices could be heard conversing, making her crouch down to avoid being seen. Shadows peeked through the window as they moved toward the front. They’re by the front door. 

Carefully, Alice unlatched the window next to her and sheathed her baton. Slowly she was able to open it up, allowing her to slip out just as the safe house door opened. She then dropped to the ground below. 

“Lock ‘em in the sawmill control room-“ Alice heard Jean Bison’s gruff voice, making her realize the man was about fifteen feet away. Quickly, she moved out of sight behind a hillside. “We can’t have any transgressions. Mr Arpeggio is ten minutes out!”

Great, and I’m on a time crunch. She thought. Still managing to see a bright side, Alice was at least glad to know where they were going. 

She did not have to trail Bison’s men for long; once they arrived to the sawmill, Alice realized the front door was not an option. Two guards stood watch out front. Bison must’ve realized there’s one member of their gang missing.

Alice walked along the edge of the sawmill looking for the next best thing: a window. Each one started to appear locked when she made it to the last one, which was left open a crack. Alice pushed the window open and jumped inside. 

The room she found herself in appeared to be a storage closet of some sort; appearing dusty and full of safety glasses and gloves. Alice opened the door slowly to find herself in a large room with logs overhead, being held up by large metal claws. A shack was suspended above which appeared to be some sort of control room for those claws. That must be the place. 

“Guys!” she shouted, hopeful to hear a reply. “Sly! Murray-“

“Al, is that you?” Sly’s voice called out. 

“Can you find a way out?” she shouted back.

“The door is blocked!” Murray called back. “What’s down there?”

“ Well,” a raspy voice said, grabbing Alice’s attention and making her turn around. “I’ve been wonderin where yer went off too. I was starting to think the Contessa finished yew off in Prague.” 

Alice looked at Jean Bison, unsure of what to do next. So he did anticipate her appearance. She was now face to face with the mammoth of a man who was three times her size. 

“Well, hear I am.” Alice said, trying her best to appear confident. “I just came to check out your operation. Quite the sight, this saw mill-“

“Quiet, girl. I ain’t stew-pid.” Bison said in a demeaning tone. Alice rolled her eyes. “I shoulda known something was up when my boys raided yer hideout for the Clockwerk parts. Good thing yer were gone, though. Made it easier for Arpeggio to put down a king’s ransom on the whole lot!”

Bison’s words hit Alice like a cold splash of water, making her heart drop to her stomach. All the parts were gone. 

“Arpeggio has all the Clockwerk parts?” she exclaimed, dread filling her chest. It was all for nothing. All they went through was for nothing. 

“I wouldn’t expect you to know the finer parts of commerce. After all, it’s a man’s trade.” Bison said, causing Alice’s anger to triumph over her anxiety.

“Alright, I’m done. Boys, do you read me?” Alice said, calling through the binocucom channel.

“I hear ya.” Sly replied. 

“Alice, we have multiple levers up here. Lead him under a log and it should knock him out!” Bentley suggested, enlightening the girl.

Bison then started to charge, running in the direction of Alice. In one quick movement she dodged out of the way and caused Jean to run straight into the wall behind him. The ground shook from the impact, dazing the bison. After a moment of clarity he got back to his feet. 

“Over here, you big stupid mammoth!” Alice taunted, planting her feet on the other side of a log suspended above. 

“Stand still you scrawny rat!” the bison roared, back on his feet and running in her direction. Alice stood her ground, timing it-

“Pull it!” she shouted, as the log flew from above them and collided with Jean Bison’s head. The man went limp, losing consciousness. 

“He’s down.” Alice said over the binocucom, looking back up at the control room. A door with a ‘stairs’ sign was near the bottom. “I’ll go unblock the door.”

Alice made her way up the stairs and found herself in the right place. A medium sized cabinet blocked the door, which Alice managed to push to the side. She then opened the door, finding each other friends looking slightly dazed.  

“Why’d you leave the safehouse?” Sly asked Alice, looking accusatory. Alice looked at him baffled. 

“I saw you guys get captured. What am I supposed to do, stay put?” she asked, confused at her brother’s diffidence. Sly’s face scrunched in anger as he looked at his sister. 

“The Clockwerk parts are in Arpeggio’s hands now because-“

“No, I know you’re not about to pin that on me.” Alice said, pointing an accusing finger at her brother as her anger rose. Bentley and Murray watched the two awkwardly, unsure if they should get in the middle of the argument. 

“If you were there, maybe we’d still have them all!” Sly argued back, surprising Alice. Fury rose in her as all she could see was red, and she rose her hand to do something no one expected her to do.

She slapped him. 

No one has seen much of a violent side to Alice; in the past she had always been the one to see the bigger picture. In the face of confrontation she tended to take a neutral way out, which is why this struck everyone as a surprise. 

Sly held his stinging cheek, not needing to say another word to his sister. Her point had gotten across perfectly clear. 

“We don’t have time to continue this argument.” Bentley said, breaking the deadly silence. “We need to get to the Northern Light battery.” 

“We only have a couple minutes.” Alice said, not breaking her stare from Sly. She then looked down at Bentley. 

“We need to run, then.” 

The four found their exit quickly and ran through the camp. They all managed to go by unnoticed, making their way to the silo. Sly climbed up the ladder and unhooked the lid, throwing the metal casing open. Another lid was opened up when he jumped inside, followed by the rest of the gang.

We all sat there in the darkness waiting for anything to happen. For a few long minutes we were unmoving and silent; for the fear of Jean Bison’s men overhearing us. Time seemed frozen in place. Then, we felt it; we were being lifted up.

I sat there looking straight ahead and trying to process this new reality. Everything we had worked for the last few months, the focus of our schemes, was now stolen from us. All our time, energy and pain ended up being for nothing. We could not see each other, but I knew we all felt it: failure. I could feel Sly’s leg bouncing from his spot next to me, telling me he was feeling twitchy and ready to move. The sound of a pencil on paper could be heard from Bentley’s direction; probably drawing up some meaningless plans hoping it would help. Then there was the silent sobbing. Murray stared through the window of the battery at the team van; floating away over the horizon. That van was everything to him.  

I was so tired I could barely think. Tension hung in the air as I sat with my eyes shut feeling like I would burst. I couldn’t believe my own brother would blame this all on me - but it couldn’t matter yet. Not until we’re done. 

Clockwerk became a fear of ours all over again. With the parts out there there was no telling how long until he was back together. 

Chapter Text

Combat

“Alright Murray, you should be able to open the lid, careful-“

I’m ready for combat 

The lid opened with a loud creak and the sound of the ship moving through the air overtook the four of them. Alice jumped out first; determined to get some distance between herself and the rest of the gang. 

You say you don’t want that, what if i do?

“Al, wait-“ Murray tried, but Bentley shook his head and held up a hand.

Cause cruelty, wind in the movies 

“Best give her a minute, pal.” Bentley said, glancing up at Sly who seemed quiet as he watched Alice run off. “Got nothing to say now?”

I’ve got 

“What?”

A hundred thrown out speeches I almost said to

you 

“Nothing. Let’s just head to find a safehouse. I’ll call Alice once we do.” 

Easy they come, easy they go. I jump

from the train, I ride off alone 

Bentley loved his friends; what he hated was seeing them all fight. Sly’s reaction to the Clockwerk parts being taken struck Bentley as a surprise. He must admit he was feeling slightly biased in the moment. After everything Alice went through in Prague and still saving everyone in Canada he felt like they owed her, rather than needed to get angry with her like Sly was. 

I never grew up, it’s getting so old 

Alice felt herself slowdown somewhere towards the bottom of the giant ship, her breath quickening as she felt her back hit the side of a building. She felt tears threaten the corners of her eyes as she let it all sink in. Then, almost as quickly, she swallowed it; finally taking in the site of the ship they were stowaways on.

I’ve been the archer, I’ve been the pray 

She approached the edge hesitantly, seeing just how fast they were flying through the air. Arpeggio’s blimp was grand and magnificent. It surprised her to see something so huge, something that looked so heavy, flying through the air with ease. Walkways stretched from section to section of the blimp, with men walking across each one to keep up their job duties. Wings laid above the edges of the blimp, flapping slowly as they went through the air, heading to an unsure destination. 

Who could ever leave me darling, and who could stay?

——-

“We should start with the blimp on the far side of the ship, looks like you and Alice are the only ones who can get there…” Bentley said, inspecting something on his computer. A small ring could be heard as Bentley raised his eyebrows. “Hold that thought, looks like Alice already uploaded a map for us. Wow, look at the engines on this baby…”

“You sound like you admire him.” 

“You have to admit that the design of this blimp is magnificent.” Bentley said to Sly, who inspected the map on his screen. “Nefarious, but magnificent. I’ll call Alice and have her meet you at the blimp. It’s probably where you will find the Clockwerk Parts.”

“Sounds good, pal.” Sly said with a sigh, opening the door and leaving the safehouse. Bentley called Alice through the binocuocom. 

“I’m not coming back yet.”

“You don’t have to. I sent Sly to the blimp on the Northeast side of the ship. I told him you’d meet him there.”

“Bentley-“

“Alice, angry at him or not he needs back up.” Bentley said, pinching his nose slightly at the annoyance. “You guys need to figure this out. In the meantime, work together, please?”

“Yes mom.”

A beep could be heard signaling Alice hung up, making Bentley facepalm and Murray look over. Murray had been doing his best to stay out of his friend’s feud. However, it started to grow hard as they all spent time together.

“I don’t like it when they fight.”

“Me neither, Murr.” Bentley replied.

Sly watched as Alice made her way over to the blimp, using the singular rope suspended between it and the ship. He stood on the wing of the blimp next to the entry point; feeling the cold wind hit his face as it soared through the air. He could feel some guilt rise as he looked at his sister. Maybe he shouldn’t have blown up on her like he did.

Without another word Sly ducked inside the vent on the blimp’s wing. Alice then followed Sly inside, ducking into the hanger to find her brother staring at something in shock with his mouth agape.  As Alice approached a lump formed in her throat. All of the Clockwerk parts laid before them seemingly in place. 

“I-I had no idea he could reassemble Clockwerk that fast!” Bentley’s voice came through the binocucom, quivering in a slight panic. Sly said nothing as he started to look sick. Alice couldn’t help but feel sorry for him; it must be surreal for Sly to be face to face with the being he thought he defeated.

“Hold on Bentley, he doesn’t seem to be active.” Alice said, eyes squinting at the scene before her. “What’s that on the wall?”

Alice pointed, Sly following her gaze to a small balcony over the hanger. A control panel sat above it with a small terminal next to it. “Looks like a magnetic inducer. Maybe…” Bentley said, thinking. 

“It could be what’s holding Clockwerk together.” Alice suggested, watching two guards patrol below. 

“Precisely. Maybe if you reverse the polarity at the magnetic inducer it’ll rip Clockwerk apart.” 

“We’ll give that a try.” Sly said, looking at the guards patrolling the area. “I’ll head for the control panel.”

Sly hopped down from where the two stood, leaning his back against an archway as a guard passed. Alice stood and watched as he moved through the area. She then jumped down to the ground level, just as Sly managed to make it over to the balcony. 

Once he climbed the ladder and flipped the switch the bird fell; catching the attention of the two guards. The two looked in surprise as a door opened and the whirling sound of gears and wheels entered. This was the first time Sly and Alice have been able to see Arpeggio up close; and he was nothing like they imagined. He was a puny parrott encased in his own contraption, being carried throughout the room with his own sheer will. He appeared posh; dawning a big monocle and a small beret. He almost looked like a small stuffed animal. 

“What’s all this then?” Arpeggio’s voice rang through the hanger from behind where Alice and Sly stood, making them turn their heads. Neyla walked beside the case wearing a smug smile. So that’s where she went. “The magnets have been reversed? By jove… And it locked the Clockwerk parts together!”

Alice face palmed at their ignorance, growing irritated at the failure. It never ends. At this point, they’ll be fighting Clockwerk their whole life along with their own stupidity.

“The Coopers!” Neyla exclaimed, a humorous smile on her lips as she approached. “Of course this was your doing. Not quite what you imagined, eh?”

“You both are who I need to thank?” Arpeggio asked, looking over the siblings with a smile. “I truly am grateful. Once powered up I’ll join myself to its circuits and be born anew!”

“All this because you can’t fly?” Alice asked, furrowing her eyebrows. “Ego issue much?”

“Immortality is what I seek, dull girl. The other Klaww Gang members were much more narrow minded, satisfied with using the parts to drive their various schemes…” Arpegioo said, absolutely beaming at his own brilliance. “Not I. I see them for what they were, the key to life eternal!”

“So, what…” Sly asked, drawing the gaze of everyone in the room. “You had Neyla put us on the scent in Cairo, then waited for us to steal back the parts for you all while not arising suspicion you were behind it all?”

“You made it sound easy, Cooper.” Neyla said, squinting her eyes at him and pointing with her whip balled up in her hand. “I had to carry your pathetic little gang through Paris and India. I was overjoyed when Arpeggio let me toss you all aside.”

“But acquiring the Clockwerk parts was only half of the equation. Think, Coopers… What kept Clockwerk alive for thousands of years?” Arpeggio asked, looking at the two expectedly. 

“Hate.” Sly said, simply causing Arpeggio to grin.

“Splendid, that’s right. Putting together his gears and wires was child's play, but accumulating that much hatred-“

“So you had Dimitri feed all of Paris Lord’s Malice, and Rajan fed all of his party guests-“ Alice said, Arpeggio shook his head. 

“That little event at Rajan’s gathering was a trail run. We wanted to see what only a little would do without hypnosis.” Arpeggio said with a displeased tone. “It wasn’t enough.”

“So you plan to hypnotize all of Paris?” Sly asked, looking confused slightly. 

“As you can attest,” Arpeggio said, looking at Alice. “The Contessa used flashing lights for her hypnotism. I created this blimp to be a massive transmitter of those exact light frequencies… The only problem I faced was finding a suitable form of light waves.”

“The Northern Lights.” Alice whispered, thinking of the Contessa. She may have reason to be more worried then her friends; being a part of some experiment the monster came up with. Arpeggio smiled at the realization. 

“You plan to fly over Paris and hypnotize the entire city?” Sly asked, baffled at the conclusion. “That's incredibly cruel.”

“Cruel, perhaps.” Arpeggio said, shrugging slightly at the thought. “But necessary. Well, my new body awaits me. Be a dear, Neyla, and keep them covered-“ he continued as he turned and Neyla’s expression hardened. Neyla moved forward, pushing Arpeggio’s case over and entered Clockwerk through the mouth. 

“What? Neyla, I demand you to exit the Clockwerk frame at once-“

Alice and Sly felt their hair stand on end as they watched the old bird come to life. Sly took a step in front of his sister as he looked upward. The bird’s neck stretched up tall as the wings popped into place, looking down at Arpeggio as he protested. Then Clockwerk jetted it’s head forward and trapped Arpeggio in its jaw. The bird then spit something out, and at Alice and Sly’s feet fell Arpeggio’s hat. 

“Behold, Clock-La!”

Clock-la flapped her wings, filling the hanger with wind as she flew forward and busted out the side of the blimp. Sly and Alice ran after and watched as the bird flew away. The siblings looked into the exposed sky in stupor as Clock-la flew from view. 

Clockwerk is back. 

Chapter Text

“Things… Are looking grim.”

Bentley looked between Sly and Alice with some concern. Ever since the two made it back to the safehouse Sly hasn’t stopped looking out the window, eyeing Clock-La as she flied around the blimp. As for Alice, she had a complete opposite reaction. She sat in the same place, eyes shut and her eyebrow furrowed. She almost seemed to be thinking; or rather, trying to tune out the situation around her. 

“You could say that again.” Sly mumbled. 

“We’re going to assume the worst and think Arpeggio’s auto pilot will activate the hypnosis light show. Which will not only make her immortal,” Bentley said, looking over at Alice and Murray. “It could-“ 

“Could affect us, you mean.” Alice said finally, opening her eyes and looking between her and Murray. It seemed possible; with them both ingesting the most Lord’s Malice out of everyone there. 

“Wait, it can?”

“We don’t know that for sure.” Bentley said to Alice, trying to act assuring. “For now, let's deal with what we know: In order for Clock-La to stay strong, she will have to draw energy from each of the engines of the ship. If we disable them she should be weak enough for us to attack. But in order to do that, all of us will have to work together perfectly .”

He looked between Sly and Alice as he said that. He couldn’t help but feel unnerved at the thought of them working together. Their fight in Canada had been building up for awhile; it was only a matter of time before one of them blew up. From Bentley’s look Sly was able to pick up on what he was saying. 

“Bentley, you don’t mean-“

“Yes I do.” he said firmly, looking between the two. “Your incessant arguing is getting annoying, especially with all that’s going on. You need to stop pretending he doesn’t exist,” Bentley pointed at Alice as she turned her head to avoid eye contact, then turned his gaze toward Sly. “And you need to stop taking out your fears-“

“Okay, okay-“ Sly said, stopping Bentley from going on a rant. “So what do we need to do?”

“There are four generators, each ran differently-“ Bentley said, switching on his projector to display the blimp map. Four red dots labeled the engines; each on different corners of the ship. “The first one we can easily blow to bits. Sly will be in charge of acquiring the TNT and planting it. After, him and Murray will head to the next one. The door to the engine room is powered by four stations across the blimp, which Murray will need to destroy. Then Sly can enter and work his magic on the inside. After they’re done, we can talk about the next two.”

“What about the giant metal bird who wants to kill us?” Alice asked, leaning back up in her chair like she was snapping back to life. “Do you think she will try to hurt us if we leave the safehouse?”

“Not yet, I don’t think. She might just be waiting for the right moment.” Bentley said, looking out the window at the ship. “Neyla has been planning on backstabbing us all for awhile. I don’t think she would risk anything before she’s immortal.”

“Let’s get to work, big guy.” Sly said, standing up and slapping a hand on Murray’s back. 

“Those engines are toast!” Murray exclaimed, as the two turned and left out the safehouse door. Bentley looked at Alice.

“I need to show you something.” he said, looking back at his computer. His tone of voice caught Alice’s attention. 

“What is it?”

“You’ve been handling yourself well lately-“ Bentley said, searching for the right words. “And you appear to have some fear of the effects of what you’ve been through. The Contessa kept entries of your confinement and behavior- well, the deterioration. Maybe it’s best to just show you.” 

Bentley turned the computer toward Alice, allowing her to read the paragraphs on his screen. Each one had a date and time, each entry a different length. The two stayed silent as she read through the first entry. 

Day one of her incarceration Alice Cooper was very compliant. After our first session I discovered she had no knowledge of a Cooper family fortune. However, after studying her brain map - she can definitely prove valuable. The amount of fickle insecurity and resentment she holds could be something to toy with. It’s no matter, really. Her older brother may have some knowledge, being the heir. 

“In the beginning all she talked about was a family fortune. Once she finally realized I didn’t know anything about one she stopped asking… But our sessions didn’t stop.” Alice said, processing the words before her. “I was just scared of being alone.”

“Hate to say I can understand that feeling,” Bentley said, remembering his loneliness while trying to save his friends. “This next entry caught my eye, it’s where she first mentions dream walking.” 

We’ve started the dream walking phase. My theories have been proven true! Everything is going exactly how I want it to. If all ends well this technique could prove useful. 

“She used me as a guinea pig.” Alice commented. “I remember her spending a lot of time with me. Even ending her other sessions early whenever I woke up.”

“Do you think it’s why you’ve had trouble sleeping?”

“I slept enough in Prague.” Alice said as Bentley shook his head. 

“There’s no such thing as too much sleep.”

He clicked on the final entry, allowing Alice to read it over. 

Alice Cooper is becoming more deluded as the days go by. Use of the Clockwerk Eyes in my hypnotism appear to have unforeseen side effects; and have done more harm in my experiment with her. What good is fear conditioning if all her bad memories are sucked away?

“It stopped working.” Alice whispered, almost feeling validated at the fact. “That’s why she was so irritable in the end.”

“Yes.That and she may have started to feel us close in on her, this entry is dated a few days before we launched the operation that rescued you.” Bentley explained. “She mentioned that all your bad memories were sucked away.”

“Even some good ones.” Alice said, thinking. “I… I try to think back on a memory with my parents, or when Sly and I were kids… But there’s nothing.”

“Well, the fact it stopped working for her seems like a good sign. It tells me maybe it can be reversed. ” Bentley said. “It’s why I think there’s a chance nothing would happen to you or Murray if the light show is activated. That, and it’s been a couple months.”

Alice stayed silent, processing the new information. For the first time all that has happened started to make sense to her. The fact that her conditioning could be reversed gave her something she hasn’t felt much of in awhile - hope.

“Thank you.” she said, looking at Bentley sincerely. He smiled at that, looking down at his hands, then back at Alice. 

“That fight with Sly-“ he said, shaking his head. 

“We don’t need to talk about that.”

“He’s wrong, though. I hope you know that.” Bentley replied as Alice nodded. “I think he’s scared.”

“Maybe so,” Alice said, smiling slightly at the sentiment. “It’s hard to stay mad though given what’s happened.”

“I imagine it’s a surreal feeling.”

Alice cleared her throat and nodded. “So what now?”

“Now?” Bentley asked, looking away and toward his computer. “We wait on Sly and Murray.” 

Chapter Text

“Courtesy of Sly and Murray-“

Just then Clock-La let out a ground shaking scream. Everyone in the hideout jumped as the four looked out the window at the giant owl. 

“Sounds like she realized we cut off half of her power.” Alice commented, her gaze trained out the window as she watched the bird fly. The bird made it to the other side of the blimp, out of sight of the Cooper Gang.

“Well it’s time for the rest of it.” Bentley stated, focusing back on the task. “Murray and Alice will head to the first, then Sly will meet you at the second. He has some keys to pickpocket first.”

“What do I need to do, buddy?” Murray asked.

“You’ll open the door for Alice. She’ll go to the second level of the engine room to power it down from the control panel.” Bentley explained, Murray nodding as he spoke. “Then you get to destroy the power fixture on the first level.”

“Sounds like a job for the Murray.” Murray said with a toothy grin, making Alice smile.

“As for you two,” Bentley said, pointing between Sly and Alice. “Sly will pickpocket the keys first and meet you there. This engine has a more complicated array; Glass energy tubes stretching from the ceiling to the floor. Break each one but make sure to do it at the same time, then break the fixture in the middle. That’s all you have to do-“ Bentley shrugged, as if he forgot something. “Besides refrain from strangling each other.”

“I’ll do my best, B.” Alice replied rolling her eyes, Sly doing the same. “Let’s get going Murray.”

The hippo followed Alice out the door, the two being greeted by huge gusts of wind as they made their way up a walkway. The two came to a stop in the center, finding themselves with three options of where to go. Alice took out her binocucom map and studied it. The view was useful; each walkway clearly marking what area of the ship it led to. Their generator was at the furthest corner of the ship. Alice looked up and spotted the building straight away; a cylindrical structure with structure beams jetting across the top. 

“Looks like we’re taking a walk.” Alice said to Murray as she pointed to their right. Murray nodded as he looked around, stopping when he caught sight of Clock-La again. 

“I feel like she’s watching us.” Murray said as the two pressed forward, eyes cautiously watching their surroundings.

“She probably is.” Alice replied, looking over at the bird. “She knows we’re planning against her.”

“Do you think the light show will affect us?”

Alice paused as the two approached the engine. She thought about Murray’s question; despite the fact Bentley’s information on her conditioning proved assuring, she couldn’t help but worry still. 

“I don’t think so.” Alice said after a moment, looking at her friend. “I’m a little nervous, sure. But if we don’t shut down these engines we have bigger problems.”

As she said that she looked toward the sky just as Clock-La flew by. Murray gave her a unsure look as he rubbed his hands together and approached the engine door. With a harsh grunt Murray pushed the door up, it rubbing against the frame as it locked in place. 

“Great job.” Alice said, walking through the engine tunnel and finding herself in the entrance of the engine room. A low humming could be heard throughout the room; which told Alice just how strong the engine was. Multiple boxes lined the walls, each with different buttons and flashing lights. Multiple energy pipes jetted from each box upwards. Right in the middle was the power fixture Bentley mentioned; lit up and surging with energy. On the other side of the room was a ladder that led to the second floor. 

“I’ll watch the door, pal.” Murray said as Alice nodded. She then made her way up to the second floor, finding it much smaller then the first. The control panel was directly in front of her; consisting of multiple buttons and levers. The screen was lit up green to show the engine operational. Her eyes scanned each button carefully, finding a power down button and drain switch.

“Hopefully this works,” Alice said, pressing the button and throwing the switch. 

All at once the humming stopped; and the sound of the engine powering down filled the room. Alice went down the ladder to find each of the electrical boxes completely off. Without another word Murray went over to the wall, finding a steel metal pipe that latched one of the electrical boxes to the wall. The hippo tugged at her bar and ripped it from it’s bolts, then swung it into the power fixture in the middle. Murray hit it one more time, shattering the middle completely. 

“That’s one less engine for that creepy bird to use.” Murray said as he tossed the pipe to the ground, walking to follow Alice through the tunnel. “You okay from here?”

“Yeah Murr, I’ll see you soon.” 

———-

Once Sly saw Alice approaching his position he started to unlock the padlocked door. As he threw the door open he shot Alice a halfhearted smile, holding it open as she ducked inside.

“One more and she’s cut off.” he said aloud as Alice stopped at the end of the tunnel, pressing a button next to the end door. 

The door slid upwards to reveal the engine room which caused the two to pause. It was exactly as Bentley described it, sure; but all the tubes that stretched from the ceiling to floor were lit up. Ombre's of green and blue flowed through each one, illuminating the room and bouncing off its walls. 

“The Northern Lights,” Alice whispered, her gaze glued at the sight before them.

“Bison must have been supplying Arpeggio for awhile now,” Sly said, his eyes scanning the room. The siblings stood for a moment longer to take in the sight. “It’s beautiful.” 

Alice unsheathed her baton, gripping it in hand as she stepped inside. “Time to destroy it.”

Sly looked over at Alice as he took hold of his cane and followed suit. The two took position in front of their own energy tube. 

“Ready… One, two-“ 

The siblings swung and glass flew everywhere. As the light dimmed the sound of whirling could be heard throughout the room. This process repeated for the next ten minutes; all until they reached the middle module. Sly counted to three and the two swung only to find the middle module dented after the impact.

“Okay, again-“ he said readying himself, “One, two-“ 

They swung again; and the module combusted. The impact brought recoil and knocked Sly and Alice to their backs. A louder whirling could be heard as the lights went low, followed by the slamming of their way out of the room shut. 

Chapter Text

“No, no!”

Sly ran to the door and hit a hand toward it in frustration. He then took a step back in disbelief, staring at the top of the door as if he’d find a way to open it. Alice’s could feel her heart beat faster as she tried to reach Bentley through the channel.

“Bentley?!” she called as she was met with static, causing her to yank her earpiece out and hit it a few times. “There’s no signal-“

She looked up at Sly expectedly, who was looking around the room for any alternative exit. As if giving up, he turned and faced Alice with a sigh. He then leaned his back against the wall and looked forward. 

“Well,” Sly said, sliding his back along the wall to sit down. “Then we wait.”

Alice stared at her brother with a blank expression. “We wait?” 

“He knows where we are, doesn’t he?”

Alice shook her head, looking around the room for anything that could help them. It was no use. The generator was powered off now. The room was dim, barely illuminated by a few screens on the walls.She sighed as she went to where her brother sat and sat down next to him. 

The two sat in silence for a long moment until a thought crossed Alice’s mind. It felt like the right moment to bring it up again, especially after facing this new dire reality they’re in. They all could die by the end of this; and Alice knew she did not want to let that happen before they made amends. 

“Why don’t you look at me the same anymore?” 

Hearing the question out loud surprised Sly, quickly greeted by shame. He knew what he was doing all along, no matter how hard it was to admit. The guilt dug a deeper hole in his stomach as he worked up the courage to speak. 

“Because I don’t recognize you anymore.” he confessed, finally daring to look over. “It’s not your fault. Some of it’s mine, well-“

“I don’t recognize me either.” she said, looking at Sly. He felt heavy as Alice searched for the right words, her eyes silently pleading for help. “I’m trying, truly… But I don’t remember a lot. I have this vague memory of the orphanage, of our childhood, but I can’t really connect the dots.” 

“We hated the orphanage.” he said, looking around the room. “Well, I think I hated it more than you did. The kids were selfish and cruel.”

“Yeah, but… It’s the place where it started.” Alice said, searching her mind for any hint of recognition. 

“I would tell you stories when it all became too much.” Sly said, a slight grin on his face as he recounted the memory. “We didn’t have the Thievius Raccoonus, but you’d ask questions and I’d recount it by memory. Tennessee Kid Cooper was your favorite to hear about.” 

Alice couldn’t match her brother's nostalgia. She searched her mind hard for any remembrance, anything that could connect her back to that. Yet she didn’t find anything. Not even now as she thought of the ancient book. With that, she felt like she lost another part of herself. 

“I need to read it again.” she mumbled, making Sly look over.

“You don’t remember?” he asked as Alice shook her head, feeling ashamed. The two sat in silence for a moment, then Sly shrugged. “Well, that just means you get to read it a second time for the first time. Sometimes I wish I could do that.” 

“It’s not the same.” she sighed, thinking. “Mom is such a distant memory she’s a blur… But dad, I remember you look so much like him. There were still those differences, sure-“

“You have her eyes.” Sly interrupted, making Alice stop and look at him. “And her temper. You took awhile to grow into it though.” he smiled at that.

“I’m sorry that I slapped you.” 

“Well, I did kind of deserve it,” Sly shrugged, a small smirk forming on his lips. “I think I’ve been having a hard time letting you grow up.”

Alice smiled at that, enjoying the moment. For the first time in a long time she did not feel like a stranger. 

“Dad was real big on family, you know that?” Sly said, letting himself recount another childhood memory. “Protect your sister, " he always said. Sounded easy enough… Then we went after Clockwerk and everything became more real. It’s why I worry about every move you make. Then Prague happened, then we lost all the Clockwerk parts… And it’s all screwed up again.”

Alice smiled slightly, shrugging. “Yeah, it’s all screwed up.” she said, standing up and holding a hand out to Sly. “Now let’s fix it, yeah?”

“Is Bentley ever going to get us out of here?” he asked as he took her hand. As if on cue the metal door creaked back open, revealing Bentley on the other side. The turtle pulled a cord out from the control panel next to him as he walked in and looked between the siblings.

“Good thing I noticed the communications drop,” Bentley commented. “Or else you two would have been trapped in here a lot longer. Probably would’ve torn each other to shreds.”

“Nah.” Sly shook his head, looking over at his sister. “We figured it out.”

“Really?” Bentley said, turning to exit as the two followed him. He looked between the two, shrugging. “Fantastic. Right when things started to get interesting, too.”

“Interesting?” Alice questioned, following her friend through the tunnel as the wind picked up. 

“Ever since we cut off the final bit of Clock-La’s power, she’s been making an awful amount of noise-“

As he spoke he was cut off by a loud screech and the bird flying by. Her wings flapped tirelessly as wind smacked them all in the face, her red eyes staring dangerously in their direction. 

“Something tells me we should move quickly.” Sly commented, looking toward Clock-La as Bentley nodded.

“If we’re gonna have any hope of taking down Clock-La we will need an experienced pilot… I have some news,” Bentley said, glancing at his friends as they rounded a corner. “I managed to contact Inspector Fox.”

“She agreed to help us?” Alice asked as Bentley nodded. “Good. She hates the bitch as much as we do.”

“She needs an experienced tailgunner,” Bentley said, looking up at Sly.

“Her and I haven’t had much quality time lately.” Sly said with a smile. 

“We’ll be watching the show from the hideout?” Alice asked Bentley, who nodded. 

“Hopefully things go accordingly,” Bentley said, taking a look off the side of the ship, looking down into the endless sky below them. “Or it’s a long way down.”

Chapter Text

As Carmelita Fox flew her helicopter through the clouds she could not believe what she was staring at. Bentley certainly was right when he said the blimp was massive. It was one illuminating bulb in the night sky; soaring through the air impossibly. As Carmelita approached she could see something flying through the air, making circles around the blimp. From the shape she had a chilling feeling of what, or who it was. 

The Cooper Gang watched as Inspector Fox approached, flying closer to the edge they stood at. With one final nod to his friends Sly pulled himself onboard. The wind lessened as he entered the helicopter, taking the headset from Carmelita’s hands. Sly stood behind the police turret as Inspector Fox spoke. 

“Listen, let’s cut the flirty chit chat. Have you ever used one of those before?” Carmelita asked, looking back briefly at the raccoon as he grabbed hold of the handles. 

“Sure, something like that.” he replied, a grin on his face as he thought back to Haiti. It was the first time he had to use something like that; back when he was in Mz Ruby’s compound. “Let’s go catch a bird.”

Carmelita turned her gaze forward, concentrated as she searched the skies for Neyla, or, Clock-La. It was strange to wrap her mind around; she knew that Neyla was up to something bigger, but never thought she had any interest in merging with Clockwerk. The entire time she thought she was in on it because of the Contessa; which changed, however, once they started a war with each other. That’s when Carmelita spotted her; a winged silhouette flying in their direction. A chill went down her spine as she turned the helicopter, giving Sly the perfect opportunity.

Sly unloaded a round into the metallic bird, visibly able to do some damage. He couldn’t help but be thankful they took out those extra engines when they did. She was in a much weaker state than the original Clockwerk. 

“Nice shot, ringtail!” Carmelita exclaimed with satisfaction. “You’re pretty good at that!”

“And you’re telling me to cut the flirty chit chat?” Sly joked as he kept his eyes on the bird, watching Clock-La carefully. He could hear Carmelita scoff on the other end and he could imagine her rolling her eyes. The helicopter made another round as Clock-La started to fight back, firing missiles after the aircraft. Sly attempted to keep steady aim as Carmelita moved the helicopter out of range of the missles. 

One of the final rounds did it; causing Clock-La to stagger as she tried to keep afloat. She then started to fall, her wings causing her to soar right into the middle of the ship.

Alice, Bentley and Murray stared through the giant window of the safehouse as Clock-La fell through the air, hitting the giant propeller of the ship. Their ground shook as explosions rang out. 

“Sly, she’s looking angry-“ Bentley started out as the bird rose up, flying in the direction of the safehouse. “And I think she’s gonna take it out on us!”

The ground shook once more as the three of them were lifted up, the safehouse ripped from the hinges of the ship. Alice fell backwards as Bentley grabbed hold of the table and Murray fell to his knees. With each tireless flap of her wings the safehouse shook.

“Well this is a terrible way to die!” Alice shouted, feeling nausea set in as she grabbed hold of a pipe attached to the wall. 

“We’re not going to die, Al!” Bentley shouted back.

Sly’s eyes widened at the sight, panicked at what he had just witnessed. His heart started to beat quicker as Carmelita immediately turned the helicopter and headed for a large piece of the ship's debris. 

“I can’t get close enough to the bird, this will have to work.” Carmelita said, pressing a button on the control panel. She turned her gaze slightly toward him. “Go get her, ringtail. Good luck.” 

“I think I’m going to be sick-“ Murray exclaimed, covering his mouth as he tried to keep it in.

“I’m coming guys!” Sly’s voice came through the binocucom channel, barely noticed by his friends in peril. 

“If we make it out of this we have to make sure that bird doesn’t come back-“ Alice said, meeting Bentley’s gaze with a serious look. “I’m so tired-“

Alice was cut off by the sound of Murray vomiting, spewing bile in the corner. The two cringed and looked away. 

“Sorry, guys.” Murray groaned, looking between his friends. 

A loud snap rang out, then the sound of a fight occurring directly above them. Then the safe house jerked down, and the three felt themselves losing altitude. With a loud thump the safe house hit a hard surface, remaining still as the three composed themselves. 

The door was swung open to reveal Sly, looking winded but relieved to see everyone in one piece. Alice was the first to get up and hug her brother, quickly followed by Murray and Bentley to join the group. 

“W-We-“ Sly stuttered out, almost unbelieving. “We did it!”

Alice let go to look at the wreckage around them. Clock-La laid motionless in the middle of it all, broken ship parts and parts of the bird falling around them. The air was thick with ashes and the Paris sky looked gray. The four felt like they were in a dream. Could be the lack of sleep the last few days. They barely did it. 

Or so they thought. 

“Die, insects! DIE!” Clock-La’s head shook to life, her angry rattling voice escaping her. “I still have my hate chip! You’ll never defeat me! Ever!”

“Then let’s do a little open mouth surgery!” Murray exclaimed, feeling the thrill of their almost victory. 

“You’re right, Murray-“ Bentley pointed, and the four could see the glowing red chip in the monster’s mouth. “Pry it open and I can probably knock it loose.”

Murray ran over, placing both hands on Clock-La’s upper jaw. With a grunt her pulled it open. Bentley then stepped inside the jaw and placed a low impact bomb. The force of the detonation knocked the chip loose; allowing Bentley to walk up and grab the chip. Unexpectedly, the jaw slammed shut on top of Bentley. The turtle let out a yell as the giant metal crushed his spine and knocked him to the ground. 

“No!” all three of his friends exclaimed as Murray ran forward, quickly trying to pull the jaw off of Bentley as he groaned in pain. 

“I’ll save you, little buddy-“ Murray said in a panicked voice, just as the jaw finally opened back up. 

“I-I can’t… Feel my legs…” Bentley forced out, sounding weak as his eyes started to look heavy. Murray picked his friend up carefully, feeling tears threaten the corners of his eyes. 

The whirling of helicopter blades grew closer to the group; it being none other than Carmelita Fox catching up with them. Once she landed she exited the helicopter and ran toward the group, finding Clock-La down and motionless. 

“Can’t believe I didn’t get a few shots in-“ Carmelita started, then looked over the faces of each of the Cooper Gang. Sly watched his friends worried; his eyebrow furrowed as Murray tended to Bentley. Alice looked almost sick as she watched the two. The look on her face told her she was in pain, like she was ready to cry. 

“I have something you can take your anger out on.” Sly replied, walking up next to Clockwerk’s jaw and picking up the chip. He then turned to the Inspector who almost looked hesitant to take it. Then, almost just as easily, she took it and let it fall to the ground. With one firm stomp it was all over; the chip now in pieces at their feet.

Once the chip shattered the two looked around them, staring at the motionless Clockwerk parts scattered in heaps. Then the parts started to change; like time was catching up to them. Each pristine iron part started to cave in on itself and crack. It looked to be over this time. 

“I almost hate to say that you’re all under arrest.” Carmelita said, seeing the shape the crew was in. 

“I’ll go willingly if you let them go.” Sly said, looking at Carmelita. Alice turned her gaze toward him when she heard this yet she was not surprised. He had always been the noble one; especially now when it mattered so much. She couldn’t help but feel a swell of pride for her brother. 

As another police helicopter finally found them Carmelita pulled out her handcuffs. Sly turned around to see his sister disappear from view, but managed to catch sight of one thing; Murray stripping Bentley and himself of their gear. Sly found the sight disheartening; but he did not blame them. They all took some scars in this, some more visible than others. He only hoped they could find the end of it. Sly could feel Carmelita tighten the cuffs around his wrists as they turned around and headed toward her police chief.

“Chief Barkley,” Carmelita greeted the old police chief. The bear stood much shorter than Carmelita but had a scowl that warned anyone who got close to him. He had a bushy mustache and wore suspenders and a bow tie, holding a cigarette as he studied the two. 

“Inspector Fox,” Barkley said, an approving look coming over his face. 

“Chief Barkley.” Carmelita replied, a hand on Sly’s arm as the two stood before the man. 

“It seems the department,” Barkley said, clearing his throat as he looked at the Inspector. “Owes you an apology.”

“There’s no need, sir-“ Carmelita started as the bear held a hand up, taking a hit of his cigarette. 

“A police chopper will transport you to Heathrow. Good work, Inspector.”

Carmelita nodded as she started to walk her and Sly over. Sly entered the helicopter first as Carmelita followed. Sly and Carmelita sat down on the helicopter bench as the pilot readied to take off; Carmelita avoiding eye contact with the raccoon before her. For a few long minutes the two sat in silence until Sly spoke.

“You know, we can talk.” Sly said, watching Carmelita’s ears perk up but her eyes stay trained through the front window with a hard look. “It’d make this less boring.” 

Silence; the only sound to be heard was the sound of the helicopter as it lifted into the air. 

“Favorite genre of music?” Sly suggested, eyes darting to the side as he contemplated different conversation topics. Then he had an idea. “Maybe I might even know something you don't know about the last few months, Inspector. You’d find out if you’d ask-“

“Miles Davis.” Carmelita finally said, looking at Sly now and catching him off guard. He started to smile. “Your turn, ringtail. What do you know?”

“Rajan put Lord’s Malice in the food at the ball. It’s probably why you and Alice fell into it so easily-“ Sly said, earning an annoyed look from Carmelita.

“I did not fall into it-“ she started, Sly shrugging from where his hands stayed restrained behind him. 

“Easy, Inspector Fox. This is just a normal helicopter ride.” Sly said, looking away slightly.

“Don’t you thieves have some sort of honor code?” Carmelita interrupted, crossing her arms and not wanting to believe Sly. “Let's not rat each other out rule.”

“You see, that’s where you’re wrong, Inspector.” Sly said, a grin forming on his lips as he spoke. As he talked, Sly was finally able to pick the lock on his handcuffs. “Rajan means nothing to me. He had a hand in hurting my friends, Alice-“ he stopped, not wanting to say any more. He can tell he caught Carmelita’s attention, the curiosity in the vixen’s eyes drawing him in. Sly cleared his throat. “My turn. Favorite book?”

“Inferno.” Carmelita said, looking at Sly expectedly. “How is she?”

He’s caught off guard by the question; but glad she cared. Carmelita had been wondering how Alice was doing ever since she saw her in Canada. Being all too familiar with what the other went through, she felt like she owed her that much. 

“I’m really not sure anymore.” he said honestly, the words striking her. Carmelita had found herself struggling the last couple months, whether it being nightmares or trouble sleeping. She could imagine the younger Cooper dealing with the same. Carmelita then broke out of her thoughts and looked as if she had an idea as she started searching through her bag. 

“To lighten the mood,” she said, bringing a bottle out and turning toward Sly. “I’ve been saving this for the day of your arrest.”

“Glad you were looking forward-“ Sly started, being interrupted by Carmelita darting straight forward upon the realization the helicopter was going in circles. Sly took that as his cue to exit, and got up from his bench. 

“What the-“ Carmelita exclaimed as she became face to face with the pilot's chair, empty. The entire time the helicopter had been on autopilot. The only thing in the chair was a helmet; with a familiar Cooper calling card sitting nicely on top. She snatched the paper and opened it-

You really didn’t think I’d let him turn himself in without help, did you, Inspector Fox?

“Sly Cooper!” Carmelita bellowed as she turned around to see Sly, standing at the helicopter hatch as he saluted the Inspector goodbye. He then jumped as Carmelita ran to the opening. “I’ll get you, Cooper!”

———

Sly entered their Paris hideout to find it unnervingly silent. A tense, sad feeling hung in the air as he approached the living room to find Murray staring at a blank television screen. 

“Hey, Murr-“

“I had to leave him there.”

Sly stopped when he said that, hearing the pain in his friend’s voice just then. “Figured as much,” he said, taking a seat next to Murray. 

“The doctors said he was real lucky,” Murray went on. “They said his spine must’ve been completely snapped. He… Won’t walk again.”

The news hit Sly like a ton of bricks. His guilt started to creep up on himself again; they went after the Klaww Gang because of his family. Now Bentley’s life is changed forever because of it. Yet he knew it was not about him. Bentley had always made his own decisions with huge consideration. 

“Where’s Al?” Sly asked as Murray finally looked over at him. He pointed behind him and through the balcony, giving him a hint.

“She doesn’t know yet.”

“Okay.” Sly said, his heart heavy. “I’ll tell her.”

Sly saw her feet hanging over the edge of the balcony; telling him Alice was on the roof. He went and climbed to the top, sitting next to Alice as she kept her gaze trained forward. She looked like she would break if the wrong thing was said. There they both were, barely keeping it together. 

“Al….” he said carefully, which almost caused her to flinch at his voice. She looked at him briefly then looked back to the sky.

“He’s not dead, is he?” she asked hopefully, tears threatening to spill.

“No, he… Murray said he might not walk again.” Sly said, hurt filling his voice. Alice looked away, biting at her lip. She could feel the pressure build in her, until she couldn’t hold it anymore. A little of her breaks as she finally lets out a cry.  Sly put an arm around his sister and pulled her close, placing his head atop of hers as she sobbed. She was finally able to pour her heart out. After months of holding it in, after what they have all been through, Sly and Alice cried into each other's embrace that night on that rooftop in Paris.

As Alice caught her breath she pulled away from her brother. Sly’s attention was grabbed elsewhere; causing him to look over his shoulder at a few pigeons that were perched not far from them. There was this nagging feeling in him, like something was off.

“Have you noticed all the pigeons lately?”

Alice scoffed. “I just used your shirt as a tissue and that’s what you’re thinking about?”

“I’m serious.” Sly smirked, looking back toward Alice who tried to feign a smile with tears streaming down her face. “When was the last time you slept?”

“I don’t know, two, maybe three…”

“Hours?”

“…Days.” Alice said, surprising Sly at the revelation. He gives her an incredulous look. “We’ve been busy! Even if I tried I wouldn’t have been able to.”

“Well, Bentley will be in the hospital for a while before we bust him out.” Sly said, shrugging. “You have time to catch up.”

“I’m worried about Murray. He needs some serious cheering up.”

“I think we should all try to get some sleep first.” Sly said, pushing himself off of the rooftop and back onto the balcony. Alice followed shortly, and the three members of the Cooper Gang went off for some well deserved sleep. 

Chapter Text

Flashes of red and blue filled her eyes as her vision focused. Frantic police officers ran from the house back to the ambulances outside, speaking to their captains on what to do next. Alice looked to her right to see Sly, who had been staring at the ground for the past 30 minutes. Conversations could be overheard by the two; mainly younger rookie cops saying how it was the worst crime scene they’d ever seen. How no one knew the connection between the Coopers with their infiltrators. A police officer with kind eyes came up, then bent down in front of the two.

“What’s your name, sweetie?” she’s staring at Alice expecting her to answer but no words came out. Sly looked up briefly to look at the women who tried to break through to the two of them.

“Her name is Alice. I’m Sly.” he replied for her, putting a protective arm around his sister. “What’s going to happen to us?”

“It’s likely you’ll be placed in an orphanage. First, you’ll be taken into state custody to hear what exactly happened.” the women explained, looking at Sly expectedly. “What…What did happen?”

What did happen?

Alice darted up as her eyes snapped open, breathing heavily as a new dream washed over her. It’s coming back little by little. She wondered how much Sly could remember, especially seeing the expressionless face he held. 

She swung her legs down from the bed and stood, making her way out into the foyer of the safehouse. It was a bit colder due to the late hour. She could feel the chill on her arms and legs; drifting in from the open balcony. Her feet carried her into that direction, stepping outside to take in the fresh night air.

A pigeon flew down, its wings carrying it effortlessly to the railing before her. Curiously, the bird had a piece of paper tied to the foot. Alice cocked her head to the side confused, reaching over and undoing the string as the paper fell from the ankle.

McSweeny.  

————

“I heard you moving around last night… What were you up late for?”

“I don’t sleep much now.” Alice said in reply, narrowing her eyes at the computer. “Remember how you mentioned the pigeons?”

“Al, come on.” Sly said, turning his back and leaning against the counter as he sipped his coffee. “Bentley said we should keep track. Did you have a dream?”

It’s been a few weeks since they took down Clock-La, and readjusting to their lives has been somewhat difficult. Murray has been concerningly distant; often spending a lot of time away from the hideout or alone. Alice and Sly had the shared issue of insomnia; mostly Alice being woken up by dreams. Alice stopped for a moment, looking up from the computer as she recounted the memory. The dream was still vivid in her mind so it wasn’t hard. “I dreamt of that night.” she said, looking up and shrugging slightly. “After, you know. When the cops came.”

Sly stopped mid sip, setting his cup down as he looked over at his sister. Mentioning it definitely brought up a memory for him too. He cleared his throat. 

“What’d you say about those pigeons?”

“They’re everywhere, Sly.” Alice said, taking out a piece of paper and tossing it on the table. “Pigeons! Everywhere I look!”

“McSweeny.” Sly recited from the paper, looking between it and his frazzled looking sister. “Who’s that?”

“I HAVE NO IDEA!” She exclaimed, jumping from her seat and digging through her pockets. Alice threw multiple pieces of paper onto the table, all saying the same thing. “One flew directly into my face when I stepped out onto the balcony this morning! And when I look down, I see the slips everywhere, McSweeny, McSweeny, McSweeny!”

“Okay, obviously this bothers you.” Sly said, placing his hands on his sister’s shoulders as she caught her breath and sat down. “What’s online say?”

“Nada, yet…” Alice said, thinking. “There has to be a reason it’s us, maybe…”

She stopped as if to have thought of something, immediately typing on the computer. Then her face lit up as if to find the answer to a long awaited question. Excitedly, she turned the screen to face Sly.

“Jim McSweeny,” Alice said, pointing to the picture of a purple walrus. The man wore a hard look in the mugshot they found, and the two could tell he had a broken tusk. “Resident of Heathrow Prison. Turned himself in ten years ago. Anything significant you can think of from ten years ago..?” Alice looked at Sly expectedly, as if for him to immediately get what she was hinting at. Her face blankens. “The answer is that’s around the time dad stopped pulling heists. But here’s the real kicker - McSweeny was in the Original Cooper Gang.”

Sly’s jaw dropped, Alice’s face beaming at the discovery. They found someone with a real connection to their family, and they were trying to get their attention. Whatever this McSweeny guy wanted, it had to be good. Any man who ran with their father had to be someone to meet. 

“If he’s getting our attention now,” Sly said, calculating. “Maybe we should listen.”

Chapter Text

We gathered as much information as we could on Heathrow Prison - a maximum security institution on the outside of Paris. Just by looking at the security on the place Sly and I knew we would be running into some old friends. I had to make a few friends in order to find out what cell block Jim McSweeny resided in; and to get more knowledge on the man.

He ran with our father from the beginning; his strength and ruthlessness notorious amongst small prison gangs. We both knew it might be hard to get this guy to talk. 

Unfortunately, ever since the whole Clock-La affair, Murray’s confidence has taken a beating. We could tell he blamed himself for Bentley’s injury. No matter what we did we could not lift his spirits enough. Because of this, he was insistent on staying out of this break in we’re about to pull. 

I couldn’t help but wonder what our father would say if he found out Sly and I were breaking into jail. I’m sure he’d understand why: hopefully we can escape in one piece, and with what we were looking for. 

“Hey, you’re not Jonesy.” a deep, gravely voice spoke from the shadow of the cell. “And you’ve brought a friend.”

“Officer Jones has the night off.” Sly said, a small grin on his face. “And I’m stuck training the newbie.”

“That’s too bad. His lullabies were the only thing that got me to sleep on nights like these.” the man continued, moving into the light more, revealing a large, purple walrus with several tattoos and one broken tusk. 

“I’m not much of a singer, but maybe this well ease your troubled mind.” Alice said, taking the calling card from her pocket and placing it into the transfer box. The walrus stood up and took the paper from the box, almost letting out a small chuckle.

“Well, ain’t that the darndest thing…” he mumbled, smiling at the card. “I shoulda tried pigeons years ago.” His expression changed as he looked back at the siblings. “This supposed to mean something to me, girl?”

“Only if you’re the same “Big Jim” McSweeny that’s been trying to get the attention of Sly and Alice Cooper the last couple of weeks.” Sly said as he removed his coat, lowered his hood, revealing his blue hat and the cane peeking out of his jacket. Alice lowered hers as well, letting her dark hair flow over her shoulders. 

“You mean, am I the same “Big Jim” McSweeny that ran with the original Cooper gang?” he asked, placing a tattooed hand to the window. “The same Jim McSweeny who bounced a couple of snot nosed kids named Sly and Alice on his knees in between jobs?” Alice scrunched her face at that, trying to find any memory of this man. So much from her childhood was lost. “Maybe I am, maybe I’m not. How do I know you’re not a couple of wannabes with a forged calling card and a big mouth? So what I’m going to do here for the two of you is give a lil’ pop quiz. You give me the right answer, and maybe I’ll keep talkin’…”

That’s when Alice saw it, the building tattooed on his hand that he held up to the window. It looked so familiar to her - it was in the back of her mind as she looked closer. 

“Wait, Sly-“ she interrupted McSweeny, pointing to the place on his hand. Sly looked closer, the same distant memory trying to break through in his mind as well. 

“That building looks so familiar, I think he took us there when we were kids…” Sly thought of his father as he looked to his sister, who nodded at that.

“I can’t… I can’t remember where it was.” Alice finally admitted, saddened at the revelation. Still, there was an odd feeling of familiarity; both between the tattoo and the man. 

“Sorry kids, lookin’ pathetic don’t work none on me.” McSweeny said, taking down his hand and turning away. “Hopefully yew have an easier time breaking out than you did breaking in,” he turned back, looking at the two from the corner of his eye, taunting them. “Not like real Coopers would have any problem with that.”

This stuck a cord with Sly the most. He grit his teeth as he tossed off his jacket, drawing his cane. “Oh yeah?” he asked, as he started to pick the lock of the cell. “You want a real Cooper? I’ll show you a real Cooper-”

“Sly-“ Alice exclaimed, trying to stop her brother as he swung the cell door open and jumped at McSweeny. With a loud roar and a thud, McSweeny caught Sly by the neck and slammed him into the cell wall. “Put him down, please!” Alice begged, afraid of what McSweeny could do. Sly held up a hand to show his sister he’s okay, then smiled.

“Italy.” he said, as the memory came back to him. “When I was four, and Alice was three… Dad took us to a city in Italy on the Ligurian Coast.” he explained, as a piece of the memory started coming back to Alice as well. 

“The museum there-“ she said now, causing McSweeny to look back at her. “Looked as out of place as a walrus in a jail cell.”

A look of joy flooded McSweeny’s face as he looked between the two and swept them up in a bone crushing hug. “Kids! It really is you!” 

“I’m so sorry, if I had known you were here I would have busted you out years ago.” Sly said, as McSweeny loosened his grip and dropped the two. 

“Ah, kid, that don’t matter. I’m fine in here. The foods not bad and the library is one of the best in the state. Besides, who’d ever think to look for an old Cooper croney in jail?” McSweeny asked, as Alice and Sly looked between each other and their fathers old friend. 

“If you don’t want to escape, why send all the pigeons?” Alice asked him as he shrugged, still smiling.

“Good question kiddo, but not the one you should be asking. The real question is the one whose answer is SO important I had it tattooed to the palm of my hand so I’d never forget…” he said, tapping his palm. “Didn’t you ever wonder what happened to yer family fortune after yer parents bought the farm? I mean, comin’ from a long line of master thieves, you’d have to wonder where all the loot went. Yer father was a good man, we were pretty close. Had a decent run too - traveling the world and showing would-be thieves how it’s done. He talked about that family vault. Things started to get a bit tense after Alice was born - So we laid low and decided to let things cool down. With all the heat your pops didn’t think your legacy would be safe unless truly hidden - even from himself. Then when the time was right it would be revealed to you both. It’s a good thing you remember that museum, call me sentimental - I thought it was a good place to hide a map and turn myself in for a “permanent residence.””

Alice and Sly looked at each other, surprised at this new information. After all these years it’s been under their nose this whole time - the way their father planned for their future. 

“Good luck, kids. Yer father would be proud to see how you both turned out… Yew want a sandwich? I think I have one somewhere…” McSweeny said, looking through his pillow case as Sly stood up and gave Alice a hand. 

“Looks like we have work to do.” Sly said, giving his sister a hopeful smile. 

Chapter Text

Alright, book 2! 

Firstly I want to thank you all for every kudos, comment, bookmark, and view on the story! It’s pretty awesome to see people seem to like my silly story.

I’m excited to share with you The Rise of Thieves, prologue will be out 5/10!

I’m excited to share some of the callbacks and lore I added to the story. One of the first challenges I had with writing this part of the story was writing in the Guru (it felt wrong to have him talk in plain English) so I kind of had to wing that. That’s one thing I’ve been unsure about, but I’m happy with how things are turning out so far! 

I hope to see you guys stick around for the ending - it’s probably what I’m looking forward to publishing the most. Again, thank you for the support, and hang tight!