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// Interlude: Cleaning Up 
// Story: Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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Sly, Carmelita, Gilda, Derpy, Diz, and Clockwerk had quite the tale to tell the rest of the gang, as they had docked the ship at the actual dock, now that all of Dr. M's forces had been routed, as in knocked out, and the mutants had been taken care of, also knocked out so the authorities could see what the mad scientist had done. Describing the sheer size of the treasure that was inside the Cooper Vault shocked some of them, as Penelope, who was new to the whole history of the Cooper Clan, was stunned by what they were telling them, and even Bentley and Murray, who had known about the Clan's various deeds, were surprised by the news. Even then the new members of the gang didn't insist on taking much, as only a few of them actually came with them to seize some treasure for their time, because the Guru did not require any earthy possessions, Penelope had scored a relationship with Bentley, the Panda King was repaying his debt to the Cooper Gang, and Dimitri was just fine having some fun with his reclaimed scuba equipment... even though he insisted that he keep his grandfather's treasure and everything that they took from Blood Bath Bay, minus the pirate ship.

Considering the amount of treasure that was inside the Vault, and the fact that their own wealth was stored back in their safe house in Paris, the original gang didn't see anything wrong with his request, as they were more surprised that none of the other members wanted anything for themselves, but they were willing to take what was happening and call the entire operation a success... even though Dr. M moaned from where he was sitting, since Diz had tied him up really good so he didn't run off to the Vault and do something foolish, like blow the entire place up.

As they waited for Secretary Sen to arrive at the dock, with the deed that would be transferred into the care of the Cooper Family, or more specifically Sly and Carmelita, the gang talked about how they were going to secure Kaine Island and the treasure that was locked away in the Vault. The Guru was able to persuade the earthen spirit that lingered around the island, as in the earth itself and not any ghosts that were still lingering in the area, to reinforce the mountain that the Vault was located in, strengthening it to the point where not even a powerful explosive wouldn't tear the entire area apart, but that was all he was able to do. The door was still exposed and only a few people knew that the cane Sly was carrying was the key to open it, but with Dr. M still around it was only a matter of time until he revealed where the Vault was located and how to open it, maybe to promote another thief to try and steal from the Cooper Clan. Even all the fortress walls and turrets ended up coming down, as the Guru managed to persuade the spirits to help them break them down as well... though Diz assisted him by using her own power to turn the parts into earth, which were added to the ground around them in an attempt to return the area to what it had been before Dr. M claimed the area and started the decades of work that he had done to the island.

When they did all they were able to do, amazing a stunned Dr. M with the sheer fact that Diz was as powerful as she was, and the sheer amount of skills that had been brought to bare against his forces, a number of boats pulled into the dock and the gang, the majority of which remained on the pirate ship to be out of the way, noticed that the boats belonged to Interpol... to which Sly, Carmelita, and his siblings stepped forward as Secretary Sen stepped onto the dock and faced them, along with the tied up Dr. M.

"It seems that you were successful in bringing Dr. M to justice." Secretary Sen commented, noticing that the mad doctor was aware of the situation that he was in and knew that his chances of getting out of prison earlier didn't exist at all, before turning towards the members of the gang that were in front of him as he pulled out a piece of paper, one that they were eager to have in their possession, "The new deed to Kaine Island, to replace the one that had been stolen."

"At least the Cooper Vault is safe, for now." Sly replied, though at the same time he gladly accepted the deed that was being offered to them, as it was a replacement for the one that his fathered intended to give him one day, only now he would be able to pass it down to the children that he and Carmelita had.

"But for how long?" Carmelita asked, as they still hadn't come up with a definite way to keep the island safe, because now that Dr. M knew where the Vault and the key were located it was only a matter of time until he told someone what they needed to do to get into the location where all the Cooper Clan's treasure was kept, provided they could get the key away from Sly, "It's not like we can rip the island out of this world and hide it somewhere else... we'll need to come up with a new security system to keep the island hidden and the Vault safe."

"Actually, that sounds like a good idea." Diz spoke up, causing the group to look at her for a moment, as they weren't sure what she was talking about, though at the same time she watched as a few of the other Interpol operatives arrested Dr. M and took them back to one of the nearby boats, "I'll tell you guys what I've got planned, once we're out on the water and put some distance between us and the island."

Sly and Carmelita glanced at each other again for a few seconds, as they remembered what Diz had done when they discovered that General Tsao basically treated women like they were nothing and was planning to force Jing King to marry him against her will, and that made them wonder what sort of idea Diz had this time around. As such the five of them returned to their ship as Secretary Sen returned to his own boat with the rest of his trusted agents, before they all got underway and started to leave Kaine Island behind, where Sly glanced back at the Vault, where he noticed that the door was closed, just like he remembered it was supposed to be after they won against Dr. M. As they headed back towards the mainland, so the evil doctor could be sentenced to spend the rest of his life in the same prison as the other people they had brought down, Diz explained that she was going to use her power to try something she had never attempted before, exactly what Carmelita suggested earlier. When their ship reached a good distance from the island, and the Interpol boats were doing the same thing, Diz faced the island once more and sighed as she closed her eyes and focused her mind for a few seconds... where her hands glowed with power as her aura came to life, causing the others to glance at the island as they wondered what she was planning.

The wind kicked up for a moment as the sky above their heads darkened, as if Gilda and Derpy were aiding her in what she was doing, but neither of them were channeling their spent powers at the moment and were just as confused as the others, though that was before they noticed something odd about the water in front of them. A green line appeared on top of the water that happened to be between them and where the island was located, stretching out around the entire island from what they could tell, and only a few moments later Gilda and Derpy declared that Kaine Island was surrounded by a glowing green circle. Lightning flashed as the air around them shuddered and Diz lifted herself into the air, channeling more of her chaotic powers than she usually did at any given time, but she was so focused on what she was attempting that she barely noticed what she was doing at the moment. As the moments ticked by the gang watched as lightning struck the glowing circle and the area on the island's side of the circle seemed to lift up into the air a little, while their side seemed to remain in the same area... before Diz loosed one final burst of power and finished what she was attempting to do with a blinding flash of light.

When the light died down, and the gang opened their eyes again, they found that Kaine Island was missing, as if it had been snatched from this reality and deposited in a different reality, before Diz let the power die down and touched down on the deck once more, only she was kneeling and sweating due to the power she had used... and her tail had changed due to her powers, as it looked dragon-like snake tail with a white tuft at the very end.

"Great, I use a great deal of power and it's my tail that changes," Diz spoke up, showing that she was still female this time around, which the gang felt was odd since massive power outputs caused her to switch genders and that this was the first time it had failed to do that, before she sighed as she stared at the red scaled tail and the white tuft it had, "but I guess I can get used to this... especially since I got used to having two wings from two different species."

"Diz, what did you do to Kaine Island?" Sly asked, because he assumed that the island that the Cooper Vault was located on was safe now, as the landmass seemed to have been snatched from reality, but he felt the need to ask her what she had done.

"I... I think I took it to a new reality." Diz replied, though at the same time she thought about what she had done and looked down at her hand for a moment, as she was thinking about what she could do to show the gang where she had taken the island that the Cooper Vault had been hidden in.

"How are you all okay with what she did?" Penelope asked, as she had known that Diz could manipulate reality like it was her toy, but at the same time she was trying to comprehend what she, and the rest of the gang, had witnessed, only she was failing at the moment, "Speaking of which, how are you able to do something like that?"

"My family is used to me doing things like this occasionally." Diz stated, to which her family members nodded their heads in agreement, showing Penelope that they knew what she was capable of doing and that she'd eventually get used to such a thing if she stuck with them, before she waved her hand at the air to the right of where she was standing, "And I think I can show you where I sent Kaine Island, so it can be safe from other people that might want to get their hands on the legendary Cooper Clan treasure."

On the other side of the magical window was Kaine Island, resting in what appeared to be an endless sea, but since it appeared that the island was in a different reality Sly was content for a moment, as Diz explained that she intended to create a doorway to connect this pocket dimension to a safe place so the gang could access it at some point in the future, once they've settled down anyway. From there the gang followed Interpol back toward Paris, as they intended to return to their warehouse at some point in time, though at the same time the newest members of their gang, now that their mission was complete, insisted that, at some point in the future, they return to their old lives, something that Sly and the others were more than willing to agree to.





When the gang got back to Paris, and Diz somehow teleported the pirate ship to the pocket dimension once everything they wanted was off of it, they headed to their warehouse and settled in for a well deserved rest, including a party to celebrate what they had done. At the same time, however, Bentley made arrangements for the Guru, the Panda King, and Dimitri to head back to wherever they wanted, which was the Outback for the Guru and Murray, who insisted on completing his training before anything else happened, the Panda King wanted to live the quiet life near his daughter, and, as they suspected, Dimitri was planning on opening a new nightclub that had no crime involved at all. Penelope, on the other hand, smiled as she sat near Bentley and wrapped an arm around him, telling the others her intent was to stay with the gang, or more specifically her boyfriend, and continue sharing in their adventures until the gang officially broke up and went their separate ways, like Sly's father did when he retired so he could raise Sly. Gilda, Derpy, and Diz, having nothing but their skills as thieves and magic users, decided that they would continue what they had been doing before they learned of the Cooper Vault, though before everyone went their separate ways Diz had them gather in the lower area of the Vault, where the majority of their current loot was stored.

She, Bentley, and Penelope revealed that, since they had a spot where a circular door could rest, they would put the same door that opened the actual Vault against the wall, but on the other side would be a portal to Kaine Island, the dock to be exact, and that whoever went through it would have a whole new set of obstacles to get through to get to the door of the real Vault, and then the gauntlet that was created by their ancestors... though all that would come to pass once they figured out what sort of obstacles they were going to put in the opening area.

Sly, upon hearing that news, revealed that he had a surprise of his own, one that he had been planning since he and the gang met Carmelita's family and learned of the existence of the Cooper Vault, and that was a golden ring that had two beautiful gemstones, a ruby and sapphire to be exact, set in the center of the metal. At first Carmelita was stunned, as she couldn't believe what Sly was showing her, but when he pulled out the matching ring she realized what he was doing and a smile appeared on her face, as this was something that she had been hoping for, ever since she admitted her feelings and finally started dating Sly. Despite the fact that they were clearly in love with each other, and honestly didn't need a ceremony to complete it, they both agreed that a small ceremony should be held, with Carmelita's family and the rest of the gang invited to have some fun, though the only thing they had to do now was set up the date that it would happen and send out the invitations once they knew where they were holding the ceremony.

Even as that happened Sly overheard Bentley telling Penelope his plans on creating a device that would allow them to view time, as it appeared that he was finally itching to get to work on figuring out the true story of the ancient owl that was a permanent member of their gang... but he knew that building a machine like that was going to be at some point in the future, as Bentley was going to be busy with planning the ceremony and helping them, and he knew that the ceremony would be one that none of them would ever forget.