Hero Souls: Awakening

by SvenFoxx

51. The Man Behind The Honor

She watched as a fourth Hero Soul sparked to life in the world below. She frowned. “Why are we waiting master? More and more of those infernal heroes are waking up as time goes on. If we wait too long…”

There was a rumble from the aether around her.

She bowed her head. “Understanding the opposition that could be thrown at us is one thing, but I used to be a part of this world. I know all too well how easily it can throw off darkness if given the opening to do so. If we want to win, we must attack quick, fast, and brutally.”

Another rumble, this one more aggressive.

She grimaced. “My apologies, master. I do not mean to doubt you, it’s just… I just feel as if I could do my job better if I understood why we are doing this the slow way.”

A slower rumble. It went on for a moment.

She perked up. “Truly? This is where it’ll happen?” She frowned after a moment. “But… wait. I was already incarnated in this world once. How can I do so again?”

The rumble was somehow smooth and confident. Smug.

Her eyes widened. “Oh… that is…” She grinned evilly. “Oh master, you are far too kind to your faithful subject.” She turned her attention back to the world and frowned after a moment. “Still, even if I can be incarnated again, it would be prudent to plan accordingly.”

The rumble agreed readily.

“Can any of the others be incarnated yet?”

A disappointed rumble.

“Blast. Can we influence anyone?”

A rumble that sounded like a curious agreement.

“Well, that blasted Ascended that gave you so much trouble is sealed here, and his power could certainly weaken the dimensional barrier. Compound that with the sheer raw power that the heroes would need to bring to bear to fight him, and you have a recipe for making a hole one of us could slip through unnoticed.” She grinned as she felt her master’s approval. “We just have to give the heroes incentive to fight him with intent to kill and force him to fight the same.”

The master chuckled, and began to explain an idea to her most faithful servant of millions of years.

Yes, Equestria had no idea just what would soon hit it.

---

Rarity looked up from her notebook as there was a knock on her hospital room door. “Yes?” she asked, closing the book and setting it aside.

The door opened to admit Twilight Sparkle. “Hey,” she said, taking a seat next to the bed. “You doing okay?” she asked.

Rarity shrugged. “Doctor Tender assures me that I am physically perfectly healthy and able to leave. Unfortunately, he insists on having me remain for a week to ensure there are no problems with my mind after I… well…” She glanced away uncomfortably.

Twilight nodded.

Neither needed to say that the Doctor was trying to make sure Rarity had no more suicidal thoughts running around her mind. She had nearly willingly let herself die because she couldn’t get her way after all.

“Are you comfortable?” Twilight asked, changing the subject.

Rarity shifted slightly. “As comfortable as can be reasonably expected, given I’m in a hospital,” she admitted.

Twilight chuckled. “Yeah. Clark hated hospitals, even if he rarely needed them.” She paused. “Can I ask about who they were? What they were like?”

Rarity smiled slightly. “My Hero Soul, yes?” At Twilight nod she became slightly wistful. “Well, if I had bothered to finish viewing the memories, I could have avoided this whole fiasco, but oh well. His name was Sly Cooper, the last Cooper and leader of the infamous Cooper Gang, and the Hero Soul of Honor. He was not only a thief, but a Master Thief.”

“There’s a difference? Besides in skill level, I mean,” Twilight asked, slotting that knowledge of Sly being the Soul of Honor away for future consideration.

Rarity nodded. “A Master Thief is a thief who has become so skilled at the art of thieving and sneaking that they have not only developed an instinct for it, but refined it.”

Twilight frowned. “Refined it? How so?”

Rarity also frowned, considering how best to explain. “Well… I suppose I should start by saying that this isn’t a skill only a thief can develop. Anyone who spends enough time honing their skills and talents can reach this point. Beyond that, it’s somewhat different for everyone. For me, I was the stealth and gymnast of our group, and I was not only proud of it, but worked day in and out to further it. Then, one day… well, I just knew. I couldn’t get better. Not because of a limit, but because I had... I guess I achieved a sort of apotheosis, coming into an ability that only I could have developed.”

She looked around. “Everywhere I look, my mind subconsciously analyzes every crevice, every nook and cranny, and every potential route I could take, then compiles that information, sends it to my conscious mind, and let’s me “see” these possibilities by overlaying these areas with a subtle blue sparkle.” She pointed at the door. “I see a blue sparkle behind that door, in its shadow, and instinctively know that it’s because I can virtually turn invisible in shadows, or clamber onto the top of the door where no one would look initially. I call it my Thief Sense.” She smiled. “That’s how you know you’re a Master Thief, when you develop this kind of ability.”

Twilight was awestruck. “That’s amazing,” she said.

Rarity nodded. “My old crew could do the same thing. Murray, the muscle, cook, and driver of the crew could do two things with his. In its unrefined state, he could see food over parts of an enemy, and he would instinctively reach for it. Then he would find himself holding the enemy in some kind of hold, or punching said enemy in the perfect opening. He was amazing to watch fight when he refined it. It was like watching water flow. The other part of his ability let him see candy in a line in front of our van that showed him where to go to best escape our current situations. Murray eventually became a star race car driver because of this ability.”

Rarity sighed. “And then there was Bentley. Bentley was our technology specialist. The brains of the crew. He made the plans and operated the tech. He was also our hacker. His ability? He could operate any piece of machinery like it was an extension of his body. An RC helicopter? He flew that thing like it was a bird. An exoskeleton suit? He could take Murray two for three falls in a boxing match. Hacking? He literally visualized himself inside the computer as he hacked it, seeing it like a simple video game. He had studied technology so much, dedicated so much information on each piece of a machine to memory, that he instinctively knew what each piece of the machine could do, withstand, and how to break it in the most efficient way possible. He knew what buttons to press to make exact things happen, how to stress the machine without destroying it, and even improve it.”

Twilight, ever the scientist, was openly drooling at such an ability. At noticing Rarity’s smirk, she cleared her throat and quickly cleaned herself up.

“What kind of person was Sly though?” she asked after an uncomfortable moment.

“Honorable,” Rarity instantly replied, then chuckled at her joke. “Okay, honor was a big part of him, but not all of it.” She leaned back slightly, reminiscing. “Sly was a person who had a sort of roguish charm to him. He kept his cool in most situations and didn’t panic easily. He always had a witty remark on hand and charming smile to offer, especially to the ladies.” She frowned slightly. “Sly easily gave mercy to his foes, but there were some…” she stopped. “Having lost his family to a murderer, Sly dedicated himself to developing a non-lethal style of fighting and was particularly vigorous in helping the authorities jail criminals with histories of murder. Especially murderers that made children watch. He only ever killed a person a handful of times, and it was because of either self-defense, or circumstances beyond his control. He never sought someone out with the intent to kill.”

Rarity stalled here, and the image of metal wings against a moonlit backdrop flashed through her mind. “No. I’m sorry Twilight, I lied. There was one Sly purposefully killed. One person… that Sly set out to kill. Partly for revenge, partly to stop him from stealing someone else’s family from them…” She shuddered. “Clockwerk, the owl that defied death for centuries through sheer Hate for the Cooper clan.” She paused, then chuckled. “In a twisted sort of way, Clockwerk was the one who made Sly into the man he was. If Clockwerk had never killed Sly’s parents, had never made him watch… Sly would not have been nearly as dedicated to being a great thief as he was before he died.”

Rarity sighed, but then smiled, almost forcefully. “Anyways, Sly saved the world a few times you know. Once, when Clockwerk was terrorizing it. A second time when someone was trying to hypnotize all of Paris, and a third time when someone tried to change history and nearly succeeded. Of course, Sly never set out specifically to save the world, but always kinda stumbled into it while trying to protect his family legacy.”

Rarity smile turned brighter. “And he made a lot of friends doing it, some who were even former enemies. Sly was generous and kind like that. He would listen to their side of the story, and often find something of a kindred spirit, or a horribly wronged person, and set out to show them they didn’t have to be alone or criminals. He was a good man, and always honored his world. To him, honor was in building an empire of family and never letting them down.”

Rarity straightened herself a bit. “Knowing what I do of Sly Cooper now, I am honored to be the latest incarnation of a man so thoroughly dedicated to the people he loved, and look forward to continuing his legacy.”

Author's Note:

I didn't count the third game when Rarity was recalling the times Sly helped save the world because the world wasn't really at threat in Honor Among Thieves, just the Cooper Vault. M may have gone on to use the contents for world domination, but I don't really recall if that was actually one of his plans.

Comments

[alfonso_rd_33]

I feel I missed a chapter... no, It feels as if a piece of the world is missing... and nice thickening of the plot at the beginning...

[badninja]

I think as Rarity was describing this her memories of Bruce would definitely crop up. Plus that would possibly bring up memories of Catwomen who was also a member of the JL and was in an on again off again relationship with Bruce.

[Comickook]

9966841
Yeah. That IS a REALLY good catch.. I could definitely see that myself.

[Comickook]

Once more, this is some really good stuff. I absolutely loved the chat between Twilight and Rarity concerning the latter's recently developed Hero Soul. That description of the distinction of a thief and a Master Thief was pretty deep stuff as was the description of Sly's personality and adventures.

That stuff concerning those two as yet unrevealed interested parties on the bad guys' end makes for some superb set-up as well.

Anyway, the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up are all well done in all the right places.

I'll very assuredly be looking forward to more of this, but am also quite willing to be patient.

And I hope you and your family had a Happy Thanksgiving.

[ShadowLight96]

Ah sly takes my back.

[Greenhorn]

but I used to be a part of this world

I wonder if Celestia have met this entity before? She sounded ancient.

[SvenFoxx]

9966861
Makes me wanna ask how you'd react if it turned out to be Tails? I mean, can you imagine how Twilight and Rainbow would both react to that? It would be hilarious!