//------------------------------//
// Honor: Tsao's Lesson 
// Story: Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Upon realizing that General Tsao knew where their safe house was located, something that they actually didn't use thanks to what the Panda King told them, Bentley and Clockwerk headed out the moment after the discovery of General Tsao's pictures in the machine that Bentley used to show the rest of the gang his plans for the area. It was clear that he wanted them to come to him, and had likely set up a trail for them to follow, to which all three of the geniuses that were present declared that the computer that held the information they were after would be inside the palace itself, which was where the duo was going. Sly, Carmelita, Derpy, Gilda, Diz, and the others were preparing themselves for the moment that they found where their foe was hiding, so they could rush out to that location and beat the stuffing out of him, or at the very least show him that they were better than he thought they were. Oddly enough, when they made their way to the palace, both Bentley and Clockwerk noticed that there weren't any guards walking around, meaning that General Tsao had something in mind for them and was expecting them at some point, though despite the fact that this could be a trap they pressed onward anyway.

When they reached the palace they found that either Jing King had been moved someplace else or was just fast asleep, as their entrance into the main area of the palace did nothing to alarm her, which was followed by the two of them looking around for what they needed to find.

"General Tsao's computer has to be around here somewhere." Bentley said, looking around for any signs of where the terminal was located, as it was the only thing that might have a clue as to where their target had gone, before he glanced over at his companion, "Clockwerk, have you found anything resembling a terminal?"

Yes, I have. Clockwerk commented, to which he opened his wings and flew over to the right side of the room, if one were to be looking at the entrance from where General Tsao had been standing when the gang met him before they found out he had their fake computer, before he showed Bentley to the terminal he had found.

"Okay guys, we've located his personal computer." Bentley stated, letting the others know that they were beginning their part of the operation, while at the same time knowing that their friends would be getting ready to move the moment they found something, "We'll let you know if we find anything."

What Bentley and Clockwerk discovered at first was that General Tsao seemed to have the standard security for his personal computer, which no problem for the two of them, but a few moments later they found out that their foe had a defense avatar to guard whatever was on the computer. Interestingly enough the avatar had several layers of defense around it, which they were sort of expecting since the General had something to hide or didn't want others to see, but eventually the combined power of the two of them tore through the avatar and opened the way to the information that they had come for. What was even more interesting was that he happened to have bookmarked a page in his diary, which meant that General Tsao must have set up a trap for whoever was coming after him, which was good and bad at the same time in Bentley's eyes, but as he looked at the marked page in front of him he had to smile, as he knew who to send out for the next part of the mission.

"Guys, I think we've found something." Bentley stated, noticing that Clockwerk was looking at some of the other pages that were open at the moment, showing that he was looking for additional dirt on their opponent before they brought him down and interrupted his wedding, "His diary mentions a secret passage through the prayer bell... then a walk across the heavens. You getting this, Sly? 

"Carmelita and I are en route to the bell right now." Sly replied, telling Bentley that they wanted to teach General Tsao a lesson he wouldn't soon forget, though there was something in his voice that told him what else was happening at the moment, "Oh, and that includes Gilda, Derpy, and Diz flying after us as well."

"Good idea. They might be able to help you figure this out." Bentley commented, to which Clockwerk nodded his head as he continued to read the pages, showing that he agreed with what they were saying while at the same time not taking his attention away from his task.

While the two of them worked on the computer, however, Sly and Carmelita moved through the streets that were in front of them and made their way towards the prayer bell, while at the same time the three flyers were overhead, keeping their eyes open for guards and other things that they would have to take care of. Fortunately it appeared that nothing was actually going to bother them, as they were able to reach their destination rather easily, though that was followed by Bentley revealing that he needed to activate the sequence from the palace and both Sly and Carmelita walked under the raised bell, since there was only room for the two of them. After the bell lowered back into position it rang and the duo disappeared, only to reappear on a cliff far above the stronghold, where they had to walk out of a door and see where they were positioned before the three flyers could join them and look out at the fortress that was resting in front of them at the moment. At the same time, while they took in the sights, Gilda, Derpy, and Diz glanced at the other cliff that was some distance away from where they were standing, to which they wondered if they had figured out the passage that Bentley had read to them earlier.

"So, do you guys have any idea what that 'walk across the heavens' thing means?" Sly asked, because the ones that might know the answer were Gilda, Derpy, Diz, and the Guru, though if his family couldn't figure it out then he guessed that he could always ask the Guru for his assistance.

"I think all we have to do is head over to that other cliff face," Derpy replied, pointing at what she was talking about with her cane, where Sly and Carmelita looked at it for a moment, before she opened her wings once more and took to the skies, which both Gilda and Diz did as well, "Come on, we'll carry you guys over there."

Sly and Carmelita let the three of them grab onto their arms and take them into the air in front of them, where they made their way over to the other cliff face that they had been staring at, though as they got close they noticed that there just so happened to be a large hole for all of them to climb through. The moment they landed, and the three flyers tucked their wings in, the group took turns crawling through the hole, where they eventually came out in what appeared to be a decent sized forest, which they couldn't see the bottom of since it was covered in fog and they were at the top of the bamboo trees. Once one of them reached the end of the line they jumped forward and used the Ninja Spire Jump to land on one of the tree tips around them, all while they stared across the area that they were in, because General Tsao, in all his glory, was clearly waiting for them to arrive and he seemed to be very happy about their arrival.

"Ah, the famous Sly Cooper and his family." General Tsao said, never taking his eyes off of them, showing them that he was either looking for something or that he was determined to take them all down, regardless of the skills that each of them possessed at the moment, "It seems you and your little gang were able to follow the trail I left for you. Of course, even with four of them standing beside you, you'll be helpless, as you'll soon discover."

"I'm not ashamed to rely on my friends and family." Sly replied, as he had been doing that ever since he first found himself at the orphanage, because without Gilda, Derpy, Bentley, and Murray he never would have gotten his revenge on the Fiendish Five, never would have completed the Thievius Raccoonus, likely never would have even met Diz, and he was certain that he'd never have a chance at getting Carmelita to chase him without his gang.

"Who needs friends when you can have servants? Who needs affection when you can have obedience?" General Tsao replied, the superior tone returning to his voice, something that he almost never seemed to be without, but at the same time the five of them prepared themselves for whatever he was going to say and do, "Ah, why try to convince you when I can simply destroy you? This sacred forest has been the stage for thousands of battles, as my ancestors crushed anyone  who got in their way, and you, and your family, will be no different."

"I've heard of these types of battlegrounds before." Diz commented, as he remembered the lessons that Mz. Ruby had given him, Gilda, and Derpy, and both of his sisters nodded their heads in understanding, before he glanced at the area around him for a moment, "The energy from all the fighting that has gone on before strengthens the combatants, allowing them to soar for long distances. We should be able to fly all the way across the arena with one jump. Plus, we can probably change directions in the air with the second jump."

"Enough chit-chat, Coopers." General Tsao stated, to which he moved his arms for a moment and showed them that he was ready for battle, something that they had to agree with, since that was the whole reason Bentley had created the fake computer and allowed this to happen with the Panda King's earlier assistance, "Face me now, and prepare for the end of your legacy."

That was followed by the five of them heading in different directions as General Tsao came flying at them, the intent to kill them firmly blazing in his eyes, before one of them circled back and smacked him with their cane, noticing that their attacks really didn't do all that much. When it was Gilda, Derpy, or Diz that attacked him, however, their innate powers came back to the surface and it seemed that he didn't have any magical defenses, but that didn't seem to phase their opponent as he continued his assault, where they noticed that he was actually going after the female fighters first, instead of going after Sly or Diz. It actually made things easier for them in the long run, because two of his targets had magic to back them up and Carmelita had adapted to using a cane like she had been raised as a Cooper Thief, all of which added together and showed General Tsao that no matter what he did he was screwed, as it was five against one and he had yet to score any sort of blow against the group. His inability to actually hurt them eventually came to bite him in the rear when he tried to score a blow on Carmelita, as Gilda, Derpy, and Diz intercepted the attack and, fueled by their magical energies, they knocked him right off the tips of the forest they were fighting above and sent him right into the ground below them, where the sound of him hitting the earth was heard for a few seconds.

After that the five of them dropped down and descended into the area below them, though while that would rob both Sly and Carmelita of their abilities given to them by the atmosphere above the forest they knew that they didn't actually need it, not with Gilda, Derpy, and Diz backing them... and, when they finally came to a stop, they found General Tsao picking himself up and arming himself with his shield once more.

"Well done, esteemed wedding photographers." General Tsao commented, showing that he was smarter than they originally gave him credit for, especially since he recognized both Sly and Carmelita, something that many of their prior opponents hadn't been able to do, "I'm impressed that you, and your 'friends', have lasted this long."

"Stop this, Tsao." Gilda stated, though at the same time she and the others readied themselves, because sometimes negotiating with their enemies failed and the fight continued, even if she was hoping that this one might see reason and end this pointless fight, "Release Jing King from your palace and this fight can end."

"No! Jing King is mine!" General Tsao snapped, showing that he honestly didn't care for their beliefs and what was actually correct in the world these days, while at the same time glaring at all of them as they stood their ground, "Once our bloodlines cross, it shall be glorious. The Panda King, in his day, was magnificent. With the Tsao name, a new generation of Kings will be unstoppable."

"But she doesn't want to marry you!" Derpy replied, as they knew, from the short amount of time that they had spent listening to Jing King's cries, that the Panda King's daughter wanted nothing to do with the person that had kidnapped her and was holding her against his will, all offenses that he could be punished for.

"She's a woman! She doesn't know up from down, just like the women standing near you, Sly Cooper!" General Tsao stated, showing that he truly didn't care about women at all and merely saw them as tools and possessions, another thing that was punishable these days, and this just made them want to knock him down even more, "Once I 'convinced' her father to take up meditation, she was ripe for the picking."

"During my time with Interpol, I heard Secretary Sen talk about people like you," Diz said, though at the same time Sly and the others had to take a step back, because from what they could tell, thanks to the sinister looking aura that had appeared around him, that something was going to happen, "all of them were bad, always treating women like they were mere possessions and not real people, but you, General Tsao, are by far the worst... and I'm going to enjoy punishing you for your actions."

Before anyone could stop him, and before their opponent could raise his shield or channel his own magic, Diz raised his right hand, with his cane in his left hand, and loosed a powerful beam of magic that slammed into General Tsao's chest, knocking him to the ground and causing him to cough as he let go of his shield for a few seconds. Sly, Carmelita, Gilda, and Derpy watched as Diz's magic seized control of Tsao's body, which shrunk in size and became more feminine than it had been earlier, until they were all sure that there was nothing masculine left, all while Tsao moaned in pain as his body shifted on him. After a few moments of watching the magic finally stopped, though when that was done they found that Tsao's body was definitely a woman's body, thanks to the fact that the former male now sported a pair of breasts and her hand felt between her legs, only for a female voice to scream as she realized what she had lost. At the same time, thanks to her smaller frame, the armor she was wearing was no longer effective and she was forced to take it all off, revealing that she had been wearing a simple purple shirt and blue pants, which she had to hold onto to avoid letting them fall and revealing her body to her enemies... who simply stared at the former General as she fled into the distance, only to fall several times in the process and curse part of her body for her new clumsiness.

Oddly enough Tsao was also carrying the fake computer, something that they could recover if they really wanted to, but before doing anything else the group turned towards Diz, whose use of magic had a familiar effect on him, because he had shifted back into his female form.

"Diz, you okay?" Sly asked, as he noticed that Diz was huffing, meaning that it must have taken a lot out of her to cast whatever spell she had used on Tsao, which also made him think of something else he needed to ask before they departed from the area they were in, "What did you do to General Tsao?"

"First, I'm fine." Diz replied, to which she sighed for a moment as she heard her own female voice again, something that she was used to since her chaotic powers liked to flip her gender when she used too much of her power, "Secondly, I put a curse on General Tsao that's tied to his empathy, so unless he learns enough about women, and gains the proper respect he should have had for them to begin with, he's going to be trapped in that form forever. Also, in the off chance that he might try to use his own magical abilities to counter my spell, I added another one into the mix that makes it impossible for her to use any of the Dark Arts that he's learned over the years, and a few more to mess with his ability to use weapons and whatnot. It'll be interesting to see how he likes being on the receiving end of his philosophy, after we've freed Jing King, stolen his treasure, and whatever else we do after today."

Sly and the others had to chuckle for a moment, as this seemed like a fitting punishment for General Tsao, because now Diz's magic had effectively removed any chance of him terrorizing the area with his powers and whatever else he had hidden away, and his guards were going to find out what happened to their boss soon enough... especially since it sounded like Bentley was in the middle of typing something up to make sure Tsao's days as a general were over.





As it turned out General Tsao had opted not to return to the palace by the time the five of them decided to move, giving them time to walk into the palace, open the door that had been the barrier between General Tsao and Jin King, and reunited the Panda King with his daughter. At the same time, however, Clockwerk and Penelope assaulted the treasure building that was on the cliff above the palace, near where the building the mechanical owl had slipped into once it had the keys that the others acquired, and quietly made off with the treasure that was inside the building. Once those two objectives were taken care of Murray gathered them all in the van and headed off to the house that the Panda King's sister owned, where he intended to drop off Jing King and a sizeable portion of General Tsao's treasure, so that the two of them would have some additional money for the future, and in case Jing King found someone that he could approve of. It was touching for the gang, seeing the Panda King be happy with his family, and knew that they had done a good job making sure that nothing terrible happened to Jing King... before the Panda King finally said goodbye and walked over to them, to which the gang welcomed their newest member before they departed from the area they were in.

While they were heading back to a place that would allow them to get back to Paris, however, they found an article about how the guards discovered that they had been 'lied to' and that Tsao was a 'lady pretending to be a man', which made her lose the rank she had earned and caused the guards to quit... and, to top it all off, it sounded like she was moving away with what little she had left to her name, while the gang focused on returning home to relax.