Sly Cooper: Family of Thieves

by Blackdrag-rose

Interlude: Goodbye My Sweet

Sly and the gang spent the next year away from any major heists, as they were still unwinding from their various missions against the Klaww Gang, though during that time Gilda, Derpy, and Diz spent their time training their magic, while at the same time Bentley continued to upgrade his wheelchair from time to time. While that happened Clockwerk spent the majority of his time away from Sly and his sisters, especially after learning that Diz was a new family member and didn't want the headache of having to deal with a chaotic being that couldn't understand his powers, though the one thing he did understand was that there were some times where he used a lot of power and his gender shifted at random. The gang had found a second computer expert in the ancient owl, which made sense considering what he was and what he had done to his body, but despite all that Sly still found that it was hard to trust the owl that had tried to kill him, wounded his sister, and had killed his father... and he also didn't say anything against him, not when Derpy insisted that he was changing because of the changes she had made to the chip that powered him, due to the magic that she and Gilda commanded.

Sly found that the majority of the last year was spent doing one thing and never deviated from what he was doing, though sometimes he stood in the lookout area of the hideout and observed the training area or headed out to specific areas where criminals were active and watched what happened from afar. The reason behind that was because there was someone he was teaching the various techniques of the Cooper Clan to, someone that was able to take to them like they were second nature, causing him to wonder if that was because she had been observing him and his sisters for years or if there was the possibility that one of her ancestors had been in contact with his clan. At the moment he was in the hideout, watching the training area as he observed what was going on, as Carmelita was helping Bentley test his new positioning software while also getting around the obstacles that Sly had put in her way, to make sure she knew the Cooper Techniques that he had been teaching her over the last year. Many of the techniques she had picked up from watching him, Derpy, Gilda, and even Diz out in the field, when she was chasing them, and a few of them she had gotten a small lesson on when they came across something she was unfamiliar with, while there were a number that she hadn't had the opportunity to see and required him to teach her what she didn't know.

Despite the techniques that she had little training in or didn't know, of which there were plenty of both, Carmelita continued to show that the talent Sly had seen during the Klaww Gang Heists, as the gang tended to call them, was very much real and that she was constantly improving... which made him happy, when he considered what he was planning on having them do in the near future and the surprise that he had for her.

She is quite skilled. a voice said, one that Sly had grown used to hearing since Derpy had returned the Harmony Chip, as it was much better than calling it a Hate Chip at this point, to the ancient mechanical owl, who remained in his miniature owl state as he flew into the room and landed on a perch that was near the window, You have done well in teaching her all the techniques from the Thievius Raccoonus. I'm sure your ancestors would be proud of you.

Sure, there were times where it sounded like Clockwerk was mocking his skills or something he was doing, it had happened a few times during the first month he had been spent with the gang and he directed his comments to nearly the entire gang, save for Bentley and Carmelita. By this point Sly was sure that the reason the owl didn't do anything to Bentley was because of the fact that it was his body that had been used to cripple his friend, while at the same time the owl did seem to enjoy tinkering with Bentley, who assured Sly that he wasn't building a death ray or something. Carmelita, whose emotions had been toyed with by Neyla, who had gotten almost all of Carmelita's old co-workers to say that she was a corrupt cop and managed to, in the end, have Berkley fire her, was also exempted from the owl's comments. Sly suspected that it was similar to his reasons towards Bentley, as his body had been the main reason behind Carmelita losing her dream job in such a manner... and there were times where he was sure that the ancient owl was trying to sooth things over with her, maybe because he might actually care or because it would help convince him that he had changed.

He still felt that three years with the loving power, and all the other emotions that Derpy had been feeling, weren't enough to suddenly change a few millennia old owl's hatred towards a rival's family clan, but for the most part it didn't seem like Clockwerk had any ulterior motive... though that worried Sly and kept him on his toes at all times.

"She's had time to pick up some of the basics from watching me and my siblings," Sly said, as that was part of the truth, as he still wasn't sure if this was purely because of her innate talent to observe and copy the Cooper Clan's many techniques, or if one of her own ancestors had been a thief at one point and that had stayed in her family, "though we're all thinking the same thing, while she may not be a raccoon she's definitely a Cooper at heart."

When do you plan of doing her trial? Clockwerk inquired, once more revealing his extensive knowledge on the Cooper Clan and what they did when they were training the next generation, which also worried Sly since he was willing to share what he knew and didn't trust parts of what he said, though the part about the trial was what he was focused on.

"Soon... I just haven't found the perfect target for her to steal from." Sly replied, as a trial usually involved a Cooper Thief stealing something from a location without being caught, generally by the target they were robbing, and at the moment he didn't have any wealthy people that wanted a professional thief to sneak through their defenses and test them, as that was how he, Derpy, Gilda, and Diz had done it, which left him searching for anything he could use.

"I might be able to help with that." a new voice said, to which both Sly and Clockwerk turned towards the door and found Bentley moving towards them, though in his hand he held a newspaper that was already open to a specific section that he must have been reading earlier, where they discovered a picture of Barkley off to the side, "Before you had Carmelita start the final part of her training I showed her this news article and she told me a few things about how law enforcement tries to trick thieves into not attacking certain shipments. The article's headline says that the world's most expensive bar of Bavarian Chocolate is to be shipped to the Munich Museum, with Inspector Barkley being the head of security, but that is where things get interesting, as both Carmelita and Secretary Sen had some interesting things to say about this article. Interpol wasn't hired to escort the bar of chocolate to a museum, and Secretary Sen even checked with his fellow Secretaries to be sure they aren't doing anything, and we've come to the conclusion that Barkley is acting on his own at the moment... to try and ensnare the gang in robbing innocent people, to somehow break the deal that we have with his superior."

He's a broken man trying to raise himself back up to what he had been before my parts were taken and before he was punished for his own actions. Clockwerk commented, as they all knew why Barkley had been punished in such a manner, a fact that Sly was reminded of whenever he looked at Carmelita, before the owl focused on some of the words that there on the article, What did Carmelita have to say about this?

"That 'Bavarian Chocolate' was actually code for some precious gemstones and several other expensive items that stack up to a small fortune," Bentley said, revealing that this was either evidence that Barkley was escorting to a safe location, or he was purposely using another criminal's loot to lure in the Cooper Gang, "and, according to Secretary Sen, nothing has been removed from the evidence area, and he's checked with several of the guards to be absolutely sure that they were telling the truth. Inspector Barkley appears to be acting as the head of security for a criminal or a small group of criminals... which means that it's loot that we would normally take anyway."

Sly was a little surprised by what he was hearing, though at the same time he smiled for a moment, as the perfect way to test Carmelita's skills had revealed itself to him, because it appeared that Bentley had been thinking about hitting the train that Barkley was on anyway, and all he had to do was tell her what was going on in the near future.

---

Carmelita, upon hearing that it was time for her to prove that she was worthy of being a Cooper Thief, which meant that she had to go through the same type of test that the others had taken on after their training, did a number of things as they made their way to the train station that Barkley's train would be passing through. Since she was in charge of the operation, with Sly, Derpy, Gilda, and Diz being able to help her only once, she thought about what needed to be done and quickly came up with a plan of attack, especially now that she knew what they were trying to steal anyway. She had Derpy scout out the train as it stopped at another station that was far away from where the one she wanted to use was located, giving her, Bentley, and Clockwerk some time to study the train and allow her to make a good plan that they could execute when Barkley's train arrived. From what she could tell the last three train cars were where Barkley would place the goods, with a locked door that only had a single lock on it and a computer inside the first one, no doubt for security reasons for all three cars. When she was done studying those pictures she took a brief look at the Thievius Raccoonus once more, more specifically the chapter on disguises by Thaddeus Winslow Cooper, and several more ideas sprung to life in her mind, all of which she was sure would make Sly proud.

Since she needed to be the one to steal the key, and the loot that it went to, she needed a disguise that would fool Barkley into thinking she was someone else, which was when she came up with the idea for her and Sly to be some eager tourists that would walk by Barkley, where she could swipe the key while he wasn't looking and then she could go claim the loot with Sly watching her back. Bentley and Diz would also disguise themselves as tourists and knock out any guards that were near the last three train cars, giving her and Sly time to grab the key, before she let Bentley inside to disable the security that would be waiting for them further down the line. Gilda and Clockwerk would be watching the skies during the heist, in case Barkley had a helicopter or something in the area, so they could know when a change of plans was needed, but she was sure that they would be just fine. Sly, who was spending the majority of the time letting Carmelita take charge of the operation, since it was hers so she could prove herself, found that she was as talented as he thought she was and listened to what the others had to say, so she could shape her plan accordingly.

Sometime later, when all of them made sure they knew what parts they needed to play, the train they had been waiting for rolled into position and the gorilla mercenaries that Barkley was in charge of piled out and stood their ground for a few moments, which was when Barkley made his arrival, wearing what appeared to be the attire of a military officer for some odd reason, before he was welcomed aboard the train after showing the head guard his credentials. Fortunately there was a bathroom that none of the gorilla mercenaries were looking at, one that allowed Diz and Bentley to change into their Irish attire and gave Sly the chance to change into his American tourist disguise, while at the same time Carmelita emerged from the women's restroom looking completely different, as she knew that Barkley might recognize her and had taken steps to hide her identity for as long as she could. From there it was a simple matter for the two groups to enter the train, with Bentley and Diz close to the back while Carmelita and Sly moved into the train car that was ahead of Barkley's, though at the same time the others moved into position and waited for the train to move before following after it.

Sly and Carmelita sat near the door of the back of their car, observing a clearly nervous Barkley as he adjusted his attire and revealed the silver key that they were after, which he looked at for a few seconds before setting it down to his right as he thought about what he was doing. It was in the moment that he was distracted that the duo made their move, though as they walked down towards the other side of the train car it appeared that Carmelita was right, without a Cooper Mask over her face, any visible collars around her neck, clothing that revealed nothing about her body, and her hair done up in a manner that she never used until this point, Barkley didn't even pay attention to them. The only time he looked at them was when Sly asked if Barkley could get a picture of him and Carmelita, using actual cameras inside of a binocucom since they were part of the disguise, and Barkley only growled in annoyance as he 'assisted' them in taking their picture, though while he was setting up the camera, to spite the 'tourists' for annoying him, Carmelita removed the key without him noticing it... though once the picture was taken the two of them thanked Barkley and were on their way, and he had no idea the key was missing from where he left it.

Despite the fact that Carmelita couldn't believe how unobservant Barkley was, which made him a fool for even trying this in the first place, she and Sly arrived in time to see Diz and Bentley take care of the guard that was right outside the train car that the loot was in. With the mercenary knocked out, and placed against the wall of the train car they had just come from, Carmelita used the key and unlocked the door, where she let Bentley in and he hacked into the systems within seconds, disabling the lasers and allowing them to move forward. The first train car, as Carmelita discovered, mostly held some expensive looking statues, from all over the world if she was seeing things correctly, and the second train car held a number of large containers that had bars of gold, silver, and a significant number of jewelry pieces, some of which she recognized as having been stolen from a museum somewhere down the tracks a few days before Barkley's article appeared in the newspaper. The final train car held the crown jewel of the collection, as it was resting in a square case that had no lock on it, proving how foolish Barkley was for thinking this was enough to stop a Cooper Thief, though the item itself was an actual golden crown with some expensive chocolate brown diamonds set in the metal.

Once she surveyed the loot, and knew what they were looking at, Carmelita had Bentley find the command in the computer that would separate the three train cars carrying all the loot from the rest of the train, though when he found it she had him wait until they entered the tunnel... to which they used the cover of darkness to separate from the main train and let it, and Barkley, ride off into the distance without the stolen goods. Sly, feeling that this operation would have been a success, had a plan to get them on their way home, as Clockwerk flew outside and expanded into his true menacing form, before latching onto the top of the train car that they piled all of the loot into and carried them all the way back to Paris, another benefit of his immortal and untiring body. Sly knew the ancient owl would have preferred not to help in such a way, since this was supposed to be Carmelita's trial and she could have come up with an exit strategy, but in the end Clockwerk said nothing as he carried the gang back to the train yard that had been the gang's base of operations when they were going after the Fiendish Five. After Clockwerk set them down, and reverted back to his miniature owl form, the gang unloaded the loot into a delivery truck that was waiting nearby, another thing that Sly had set up ahead of time, and they got back to the safe house with all the loot that Barkley had been using to lure them out into the open... and, at the same time, the former Director of Interpol had only made a fool of himself in the process.

"I honestly can't believe we pulled that off without Barkley even recognizing me," Carmelita said, as the moment they got back to their safe house, which had become a home to all of them in one way or another, she and the others shed their disguises and returned to their normal attire, before looking down at the loot they had taken for a few seconds, "For a moment there I thought he was going to recognize us and arrest us before we could even get the key, since we have to be the only raccoon and fox couple in the area. But we made off with the loot and it's only a matter of time until Secretary Sen throws Barkley out of Interpol for good... or maybe he'll arrest him, for helping the criminal that stole all of this in the first place."

"Carmelita, your plan worked to perfection and Barkley won't know the loot is gone until he arrives at the destination he was taking it to," Sly spoke up, though that was when the gang noticed that he was carrying a rectangular box that was as long as his cane, even if it was slightly shorter, which caused all of them to quiet down as they observed what was going to happen, "Normally it takes someone years to master the techniques of the Cooper Clan, but the time you spent chasing after us, observing our every move, and even taking part in some of our heists, all of it proves one thing, and this heist only confirms it even more. Carmelita, you are, without a doubt, a Cooper Thief... and no thief of the Cooper Clan is complete without a cane to call their own."

Carmelita was happy that Sly was pleased with her process, and had completed her trial, but hearing that he had such a surprise for her was a shock that she wasn't expecting, though it did make her look at the canes that he and the others were carrying. Sly's cane was the same one that his father carried before him, which was a wooden handle with the initial of the Cooper Clan, no doubt created from solid gold, at the very top of it, and it was that same 'C' shaped design that rested at the top of Gilda, Derpy, and Diz's canes. The only difference was that, shortly after she was fired from Interpol, all three of the magic users had, as part of their lessons, embedded a small part of their power into their canes, causing the handles to change and set them apart from the one that Sly carried. Gilda's cane, for instance, now bared a handle that seemed to resemble flowing wind, while Derpy's possessed a lightning pattern on the handle and one the head of the cane itself, and Diz's handle had, somehow, changed to the point where it looked like it was made of two different pieces of wood, despite it being a single piece, and there was a tooth chained to the area between the handle and the head... which was something that Diz was surprised to see when he did this and Mz. Ruby didn't have an answer, so all he could do was accept it and roll with it.

Once she was done remembering what the other four canes looked like she gently removed the lid from the box and stared down at the cane that rested before her, as it appeared to be modeled after the one that Sly carried, and at first she thought that the only difference was the pure silver head that contained the familiar 'C' shape... though that was before her eyes were drawn to the end of the handle, to the part that might touch the ground, and found that the end of the handle had been shaped into a fox's tail, with the Cooper Clan and Interpol emblems etched into both sides of it.

"Sly... it's beautiful," Carmelita said, to which she gently pulled the cane out of the box and held it up, though she was happy to see the reminder of her past etched into the weapon of her future, as it actually represented her more than she was willing to admit, and this time the reminder of her losing her position at Interpol didn't hurt.

"I'm glad you like it, though that's not the only surprise that's in the box." Sly replied, as he had noticed that, without anything to put on the collar she used to wear all the time, Carmelita had stopped wearing her collar the day after she lost her dream job, which was why this next piece was important as well, to truly complete her.

Carmelita glanced into the box once more and found what, at first glance, appeared to be a Cooper Gang calling card, despite it looking about the size of her old Inspector's badge, but as she touched it she found that it was metallic like her old badge and, when she lifted it out of the box, she found that it could be attached to her old collar. That was before she noticed that the name engraved on one side of it was her name, though instead of it reading 'Carmelita Montoya Fox' it actually read 'Carmelita Montoya Cooper', to which she looked up at Sly for a moment before wrapping her arms around him and kissed him.

"Sly... words cannot express my gratitude towards you and the rest of the gang," Carmelita said, though at the same time, as she felt tears starting to flow once more, Sly brushed them away and pulled out the old collar that Carmelita had worn for the longest time, where she smiled as he slipped it around her neck and connected the symbol of her new life to it without delay, "but thanks for giving me a place where I could belong. I'm honored to be a member of the infamous Cooper Gang, at long last, and... and I'm honored to take your last name as well."

"Carmelita, we're all honored to have you as part of the gang and as part of the family," Sly replied, though at the same time he embraced Carmelita as the rest of the gang nodded their heads, even Clockwerk, who was only part of the group because of Secretary Sen's threats, did so as well, "Though there is one more thing we need to do."

"And what's that?" Carmelita asked, though right now she was eager for some rest, because despite how easy that heist had been she was still slightly tired from all the training she had done before it was time for her to take on her trial, which she was pleased to have passed with flying colors.

"We need to tell your parents about us," Sly said, knowing that the last thing Carmelita wanted was to confront her parents about losing her dream join and joining a gang that was on the opposite side of the law, but he was surprised when she nodded her head and said nothing about that.

Sly and the others relaxed as a small party of sorts was thrown to celebrate Carmelita's achievement, though at the same time both of them knew that their next venture wasn't going to be that easy, as talking with Carmelita's parents might be one of the hardest things they ever had to do... and yet all they could do was wait and see what happened when they decided to tell them the news that Carmelita had to tell them.

Author's Note:

For anyone that's curious, Goodbye My Sweet is actually an unlockable video in Sly 3, one that, in the timeline, is set either before the game starts or after the first level of the third game, so I decided to use it here for my own purposes... with some alterations to what happened.

Comments

[Mourningmist]

Well ms. Fox time to bring your criminal boyfriend to meet your parents… that’ll go over well. Not!
(That’s got to be fun to write and even funnyer to read.)

[Midnight Moon]

Ah, it is so satisfying to know Barkley's going to be arrested, having become the sort of criminal he once fought against in his blind hatred and quest for revenge. The only thing that could make it better is being able to see it happen, but that's just wishful thinking on my part.

Besides, what I'm more eager to see is how Carmelita's parents react.

[KnightGomora1994]

Oooohhh.... tell Carmelita's parents about them...? I'm sure this might not end well.