//------------------------------//
// Honor: Back to China 
// Story: Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

After their week long stay in Holland, after the ACES Competition was over, the gang packed up their gear and headed back to Paris, showing off the hideout to Penelope as Bentley and Clockwerk started to go over the plans for the Vault once more, just to double check their math and what else they might need to get to their destination. When the two of them finished their calculations an hour or two later, and even brought Penelope in to get her opinion on the matter, they told the group that, even with three magic users and the most dangerous mechanical owl on the planet, they were going to need another dedicated expert, just like what Penelope was. Bentley then elaborated and revealed that the three of them were referring to a full-times demolitions specialist, someone that would allow them to blow a good number of things up when they were finally ready to launch the assault on Kaine Island, though what shocked the majority of the gang was his nomination for the position he was talking about: the Panda King.

Carmelita had to tell Penelope that the Panda King had been one of the original members of the Fiendish Five, just like Muggshot had been before he was taken out, and that he was one of the five people that came and defeated Sly's father all those years ago, before making off with a section of the Thievius Raccoonus, all for the purpose of testing Sly, Gilda, and Derpy when they came for the pages he had taken. The Panda King had been making sure that they were ready for the eventual battle with Clockwerk, causing Penelope to raise an eyebrow when the name was spoken, since the gang had a mechanical owl with them that went by the same name, only for Clockwerk to reveal that he was the same one that she had been told about, only changed by the sudden change to the chip that kept his body running. Clockwerk also denied Penelope the chance to open his body up and study him, as she had never heard of a person making themselves immortal by replacing their body with metal and fueling said body with nothing but hate, or love and friendship as she guessed was the case now, before they returned to the topic at hand.

At the same time Carmelita was worried about Sly, as this would be the second person that had taken out his father that he might be forced to work with in order to get into the Vault, but while he had grown used to Clockwerk's presence, enough for his earlier dislike to decrease by a lot, she had to wonder what the Panda King's presence would do to him.

"Then let's get going." Sly commented, surprising the gang for a moment, especially those that knew his connection to the Panda King, though at the same time he grabbed his cane and started to gather the items that he would need for a disguise before they headed out of the safe house in a few days.

Are you really okay with this, Sly Cooper? Clockwerk asked, causing Sly to stop for a moment, before he extended one of his metallic wings and glanced at it, as he, alone, knew how to upgrade his body and could easily install some new weapons if it meant that Sly didn't have to delve into his past again, especially since he was a walking reminder of what he and his family had been through, If you don't want the Panda King to join us, and have his help in getting to the Vault, then I can spend a few days installing some better firepower so we'll have everything Bentley says we'll need for when we assault Kaine Island.

"Clockwerk, if you, Bentley, and Penelope say we need a dedicated demolition expert, and say that the Panda King is the best candidate for the position, then I'll take your word for it," Sly replied, though at the same time he turned around and approached the ancient metallic owl that was currently sitting on one of the perches he had spread throughout the hideout, "Besides, no member of the Cooper Gang has to carry the weight of the rest of the gang on their shoulders, or their back if you prefer, and that applies to you, Clockwerk. You don't have to act like you have to carry the weight of all of us on your shoulders, trying to do everything in your power to appease us and make up for what happened in the past... besides, if Gilda and Derpy were able to forgive you and welcome you as a member of the gang, like everyone else, then I should be able to do the same thing. If we're able to do that, well, then we should be able to do the same thing to the Panda King and see if we can't reach an agreement for him to join the gang for the Vault heist."

Clockwerk stared at Sly for a few seconds, surprised that Sly was actually acting like he was a member of the gang and was treating him like that, and a quick glance at Bentley and the ones responsible for the change of his core chip confirmed Sly's statement, as they nodded their heads to Sly's words, causing him to nod his head a little in return. He had set out with the purpose of showing Sly that the new Clockwerk, building off the mistakes that he made when he was powered by pure hatred, and now it appeared that he had succeeded in that mission, which only caused a light smile to appear on his face as they gathered what they needed. Once the gang was ready to go they climbed into Murray's van, which he had worked on multiple times and had Diz mess with when they had time, including a spell that made the inside of the vehicle larger than what the outside showed, which was perfect for the size of the gang, before they headed to the airport and charted a course for the last reported location that the Panda King had been spotted in.





Even with the use of Murray's van, and the directions that Bentley had gained from asking one of the locals where the Panda King was supposed to be that he combined with the layout of the area that Gilda, Derpy, Diz, and Clockwerk gave him, it took them some time to reach the area that the Panda King was located in. When they finally reached the area in question Murray parked the van, turned it off, and the gang, all geared up, stepped out and entered the short tunnel that was in front of them, as it was large enough for them to walk through while also being small enough to prevent the van from going through it. When they walked out of the other side of the tunnel the first thing that Bentley spotted was a path for them to use to get the van though to a different area, where he guessed the Panda King's residence was located, and the area around him seemed to be a meditation shrine of some kind, with their target in the direct center, dressed in monk robes and meditating on one of his legs while his eyes were closed.

"Stay sharp guys," Sly commented, looking out at the area that was around them for a few seconds, as he spotted a few guards walking around the area, guards that didn't look like the ones that the Panda King would have employed if he was still dangerous, "we've got enemies here, and some of them look dangerous."

"That is a good observation," Bentley said, showing that he was happy that Sly wasn't bashing the Panda King at the moment, though as he thought about that he turned towards the person they came to see, "Besides, just look at the Panda King. Have you ever seen someone more at peace with the world?"

"I'll admit, he does look kinda 'zenned out'." Carmelita spoke up, as she knew that they hadn't been quiet about their arrival, since the van was louder than what a normal vehicle in the area had been, but, at the same time, it didn't appear that the Panda King even knew they were there, confirming Bentley's statement.

"Uh... Mr. King?" Bentley called out, knowing that the guards wouldn't be able to hear him at the moment, and he wanted to try this to be absolutely sure about what was going on with the person they had come to see, "Honorable Panda King? We humbly wish to speak with you."

The gang watched as nothing happened, confirming that the Panda King was so deep in his trance that he was ignoring the outside world entirely, meaning that it was going to take some time for them to figure out a way to wake him from the trance and hope that he wasn't angry with them when they did that.

"He's definitely in a deep meditative trance." Gilda commented, remembering the times that Mz. Ruby had insisted that she, Derpy, and Diz meditate so they could better control both their emotions and their powers, "You know, it will take a few minutes, but the fastest way to get the team up to his shrine might be for the three of us to fly everyone up to the area in front of it."

"As much as I would like to experience flying with one of you guys, I don't think you can handle my weight." Murray said, surprising the team for a moment, because he usually never talked about his weight, before he glanced out at the open area that was in front of them and spotted something, "How about I use my ball move and the top of that pillar over there? Do you think I can bounce my way over to where the Panda King is meditating."

"Murray... that's an excellent idea!" Bentley stated, because while they were always caught off guard when Murray came up with an idea, as he had some interesting ideas from time to time, they quickly recovered from their shock and focused on the area in front of them, "Okay, you should get moving first. Since the guards don't know we're here yet, and I'd like to keep it that way, you should be able to get to the top of that pillar, where you can use your ball move to bounce  all the way up to the Panda King."

Murray smiled for a moment before jumping down into the area that was below them and carefully made his way over to the bounce pad that would allow him to get to the top of the pillar that he had selected, all while the guards that were further in the distance in front of him happened to be looking away from his position. Since that was happening he jumped onto the pad that was near him and bounced up to the top of the pillar, where he pulled himself into his ball form and started to bounce as he made his way over to the path that he had spotted, the same one that wasn't being guarded by anyone at the moment. It didn't take him long to reach that point, where he returned to his normal state and ran over to the rail that was above the location that the rest of the gang was located in, where he waved at them and knew that they were going to start ferrying over everyone so they could see what they could do with the Panda King. The moment he was in position Gilda, Derpy, and Diz carefully lifted their friends and family into the air and flew them over to where Murray was standing, though two of them worked together to assist Bentley, so whoever would have helped him originally didn't accidentally drop him.

Once the entire gang was up where the Panda King was meditating, however, Clockwerk tackled the wooden pole that had some sort of motto on it and forced it to collapse so they had a walkway to reach the Panda King, where he landed on Sly's shoulder as he, Bentley, and the Guru approached the person they had come to see... and the Guru made a comment about what they were seeing once they stopped in front of the Panda King.

"I agree, he's in a super meditative state." Bentley said, though at the same time that only slightly complicated things for them, as that was the reason that he had asked the Guru to come with him and Sly, because he might be the only one among them that could break through the miditation.

"So I take it that shouting in his ear won't do anything for us?" Sly asked, as he had come to recognize the tones that his friend used from time to time, and this one told him that there was something that they needed to do so they could bring the Panda King out of his meditation, something he still wasn't looking forward to.

"That's correct," Bentley replied, pleased that Sly knew that they couldn't break the meditation in such a manner, even though there was a specific method they had to use to awake the Panda King, "to break him out of this trance we'll need to delve into his mind. It will require channeling. Clockwerk, do you mind joining Sly in his endeavor?"

I will do my best to ensure that Sly breaks the meditation, Clockwerk replied, though at the same time he was already prepared for what was going to happen next, as he had made sure to seal off the darker part of his mind so the old him, that he was still burying, never came back to the surface.

Sly nodded his head as Bentley turned towards him, where he sat beside the Panda King as Clockwerk went still on his shoulder, to which the Guru stood between them and the Panda King as he started chanting and spinning the stone at the top of his staff, allowing the energies in the air to bridge their minds as both Sly and Clockwerk closed their eyes.





When Sly came to, inside the mind of the Panda King, he found that the area they were in resembled the room that the person he had come to talk to had been in three years ago, when he and his sisters came for the pages of the Thievius Raccoonus, which the Panda King had used as an excuse to prepare them for the battle with Clockwerk. Sly took a moment to look around the area, and that was what Clockwerk did as well since this was the first time he had ever come to this location, and found that everything was exactly where it had been during his previous encounter with the Panda King, as if they were repeating the past. It was odd to be back here, back where he and his sisters had beat the person they came to talk to, but at the same time he guessed that, even with the time he had to himself, the Panda King was still stuck on the day that he had been defeated, if what he was seeing was any indication. And, to top it all off, he spotted the familiar form of the Panda King standing in the middle of the area that they were in, constantly switching from his left and right legs in the same manner that he had done when they were first there... and, based on the look in his eyes, it was like he was ready for battle, just like he had been when they came for him three years ago.

"I see you carry the cane of the notorious Cooper Thief Clan." the Panda King commented, glancing down at Sly's cane for a moment, no doubt recalling the moment that he had seen Sly's father use it against him and the other members of the Fiendish Five, even if he hadn't been able to fend any of them off, "Have you come here for revenge? To steal back the Thievius Raccoonus?"

"No, I came to talk to you about something entirely different." Sly said, because he had the feeling that if he allowed the scene to play out again it would just reset until he found a way to break it, since he was sure that the Panda King was repeating the day that he and his sisters beat him.

"Why should you care if I bury a few worthless villages in the snow?" the Panda King asked, causing Clockwerk to raise an eyebrow for a moment, as he had heard what happened between the Cooper Gang and the Panda King three years ago, before the person they came to talk to stared down at them, "You are a thief, just like me."

"Uh, yeah, are you even listening to what I'm saying?" Sly asked in return, because the way things were going it sounded like they were going to have to repeat the battle that happened all those years ago, which was why he gripped his cane, just in case a fight actually happened.

"Insolent child! You shall pay dearly for your disrespect!" the Panda King snapped, though that was before he raised a hand to his chin and considered something for a few seconds, allowing Sly to picture what had happened three years ago quite easily, as he knew what was coming next, "Still, to honor your Cooper ancestry I will send you to your doom with the beauty of my new firework technique... Flame-Fu!"

"Uh oh." Sly said, because this time around he would be fighting the Panda King on his own, as his sisters had been here the last time they all fought this one opponent and it was then that they caught the first glimpse of their inner powers, which awoke when they battled Clockwerk.

Sly moved the moment the Panda King hurled one of his fireballs at him, the same ones that he had seen three years ago, and moved around the area that they were in, but this time around he did something else as he dodged the attacks that were coming his way. After seeing the number of times either Gilda, Derpy, or even Diz channeled their powers into the area around them, or whatever they were targeting, he noticed that the Panda King was doing something similar, and he was sure that Mz. Ruby made the same motions that the Panda King was doing. Even as he thought about it he knew that it had to make sense, as Gilda and Derpy had been able to take hold of his fireballs when he threw them and even pushed them backwards, because their magic must have interacted with whatever magic the Panda King had unlocked during his time waiting for them to arrive. That meant that Flame-Fu wasn't a martial arts style that combined fireworks into the movements, it was him channeling his own inner power and actually causing flames to appear around his body and hands, meaning that he, as someone who didn't use magic, was definitely in trouble if he got hit... and that applied to Clockwerk as well, given his history of fighting his siblings and the powers that they commanded.

Despite his crazy discovery Sly's speed allowed him to avoid the incoming attacks and bypass most of the Panda King's defenses, giving him the chance to strike him a number of times in the center ring before he was pushed back to the edge of the arena, only he paused, showing that this was still slightly different than what happened three years ago.

"Snap out of it!" Sly stated, while at the same time noticing that Clockwerk had landed on a rail nearby and was silently observing what was going on at the moment, as he was curious as to what the Panda King was doing, before he turned his attention back to him foe, "This is all in your head!"

"My mind is clear, focused on your destruction!" the Panda King declared, his eyes staring down at Sly, as if he could crush him with just his gaze and nothing else, but at the same time he still made no motion to carry on the fight, meaning that he was waiting for some cue from Sly to move forward with the battle.

"Look, it doesn't take a genius to know why you're here." Sly said, to which he moved his cane and put it aside for the moment, showing the Panda King that he wasn't here to harm him and hoped that his opponent would get the message, otherwise he was going to have to beat him again, "You're fixated on the moment of your greatest defeat. My sisters and I beat you and, despite the fact that you planned on such a thing happening so we could battle Clockwerk, you've wondered how the three of us were able to beat you."

"You are correct." the Panda King replied, to which he lowered his hands as well and focused on Sly, still ignoring the metallic owl sitting nearby, before sighing as he thought about what he was going to say next, "My heart is heavy with the recent abduction of my daughter, Jing King, and my own failure to stop such a thing from happening. It stirred the anger that first turned me towards crime, then turned that anger into hatred for the man responsible for taking my daughter from me... something that I have been trying to get rid of, hence the meditation that you found me in."

You aren't the only one that feels that way. Clockwerk said, to which the look in the Panda King's eyes turned from the haze they had while he was talking to Sly, transformed into the anger that he had felt when he realized that he and the other members of the Fiendish Five had been pawns for Clockwerk's ultimate goal, and yet, as the Panda King turned towards him, Sly noticed that Clockwerk didn't seem to care, Many know the hardship of losing someone close to them, for whatever reason that loss was created from.

Sly watched as Clockwerk grew to his former intimidating state, finding that the area around them shifted a little to accommodate his increased size, and simply walked up to where the Panda King was standing, who stared at him with an intense anger in his eyes, as he had to be remembering what happened when the Fiendish Five attacked the house that he had been growing up in.

"YOU!" the Panda King declared, to which he turned his full attention to the mechanical owl that he had helped the Cooper siblings prepare for, who he had heard had been defeated and destroyed before he went into his meditation, and realized that this couldn't be a manifestation of his inner feelings, otherwise it would have attacked him at some point, instead of just standing around, "I don't know how you put yourself back together, but I'll make sure that you stay in pieces once I'm done with you."

I did not come to fight you, honorable Panda King, Clockwerk replied, though at the same time he even lowered his defenses and waited for the Panda King to make a move, all while keeping one blue eye on the person they had come to talk to, I, as well as the rest of the Cooper Gang, came to have words with you and ask for your help in a... personal... job.

"You... you're working with the Cooper Gang?!" the Panda King asked, as he was able to figure out what the ancient mechanical owl was saying easily, though the fact that the enemy of the Cooper Clan was willing to work with those he had sworn to kill raised several red flags in his mind, "What sort of game are you playing?"

"He isn't playing a game, not this time." Sly spoke up, where he noticed that the Panda King was still staring at Clockwerk, as if he didn't trust the words that were coming from his mouth, before he sighed and decided that he might as well see if Clockwerk could explain the situation to him, "Clockwerk, why don't you go ahead and give him the rundown on what happened to you? It might just be what he needs to hear to understand that you aren't who you used to be."

Clockwerk nodded his head and began to tell the Panda King everything that happened since his defeat, the parts that he could remember before his body was put back together and he came online again, and Sly had the feeling that the talk between the two of them was going to go on for quite some time before they could leave the area that they were standing in... that was if the Panda King didn't blow them out of his mind anyway.





Despite the amount of time that it took for Clockwerk to explain his situation to the Panda King, who had listened with some interest since he was unaware that the hateful owl could have changed for the better, Sly found that not much time had gone by in the world outside the Panda King's mind. When they did emerge from his mind, however, anger returned to his eyes as he recounted how he lost Jing King, as she had been abducted by a powerful general from the northern mountains and was to be the bride in a forced marriage to the same unscrupulous ruler. The Panda King, recalling what Clockwerk had told him inside his mind, then did what Bentley was hoping he'd do after telling them the story of how he lost his daughter, he asked the Cooper Gang for assistance in saving his daughter and, if they could, put General Tsao behind bars for the evil that he had committed so far. In exchange for the gang doing this, and reuniting him with his beloved daughter, he told them that he would gladly offer them his skills for the heist they were planning, in regards to the Cooper Vault job.

In the end Sly and the rest of the gang agreed to help him save his daughter, to which the Panda King retreated into his house for a few minutes, only to reemerge wearing the familiar attire that he had worn during their first battle, the white hairs, beard, and eyebrows shaved off, and a firework cannon fitted to his back... showing them, and the world around them, that the true Panda King was back in action, and that he wouldn't stop until he rescued his daughter and brought General Tsao down.