Interlude: Meeting the Parents
Carmelita thought it would have been hard to contact both of her parents, especially since both of them had to be busy with their own jobs and whatever duties that they had to perform recently, but what surprised her was when she made the first call she managed to reach her mother, Margret Fox, quite easily. Her mother was happy to hear from her again, as she had spent the last year focused solely on her training with Sly, and actually set in motion the time and place of where they could get together and share the news with each other. Carmelita knew that having her mother do that meant that she didn't have to call her father, Edward Fox, and talk to him just yet, because she knew that her father had likely heard the news that she had been fired from Interpol and would have a hundred questions to ask her, not to mention that he would be very disappointed in what happened to her, and that wasn't even taking her mother into consideration. The only thing that she wasn't expecting was for her mother to call her back an hour later and inform her that she, Sly, and the rest of the gang were being invited over to her grandfather's place to talk and have a meal together, much less the fact that it was in the next couple of days.
Sly felt that having the majority of the gang being called to one location, even if it was to meet Carmelita's side of the family, was weird and unusual, something that Carmelita agreed with since she had tried to only get herself and Sly to meet her parents, but, as it turned out, they knew something about her situation and were eager to meet them... but whether or not her parents knew that she was dating a criminal, and had become one herself while hanging out with the gang, Carmelita honestly didn't know.
Fortunately both she and Sly still had their dresses from when they went to Rajan's ball, which was more than enough for what they were going to, and they were able to find someone that could outfit Derpy, Gilda, Diz, and Bentley before the day of the dinner. The only member of the gang, and that was a term that still didn't quite fit with the being in question, that didn't have to actually wear anything was Clockwerk, who was sticking to his miniature form since he was sure that Carmelita's family would want to get at him if they realized who he was, but, at the same time, he refused to go without anything. What he came up with was a monocle, scaled to his body, a small top hat, and a bow tie, all of which he could have ignored, and he understood that, but at the same time he wanted to make sure that he made a good first impression and didn't annoy anyone by coming under dressed, even if he was a robot. The only thing that actually confused the gang was the part of the message that said they could bring their canes if they so desired, though out of habit Sly and his siblings decided to bring them along, in case something happened, and Carmelita only went along with it because she had the feeling that her parents knew more than she had told them.
After getting all of their appropriate clothing together, simple dresses and suits by the looks of it, the gang spent the remaining time relaxing, as they were sure that they would be busy with other things once they met Carmelita's family, before time was up and they had to leave... only for Sly and the others to find out that Carmelita's grandfather lived in a decent sized building outside Paris, three stories tall and had more than enough room for all of them.
When they arrived outside the house in question, using a limo that Carmelita's grandfather had sent to pick them up from a very specific destination so no one could see them, Sly was the first to emerge from the car and held out a hand as he helped Carmelita out of the back seat. All of them were dressed up and ready to go, with five of them carrying their canes while Clockwerk remained perched on the back part of Bentley's wheelchair, before they approached the front door and were welcomed inside, where Sly, his siblings, and Bentley stared at the area around them and found a few statues, pieces of art, and several items that seemed to be important to the Foxes in one form or another. Carmelita remembered many of these items from when she was younger, running around the place as she played cops and robbers, and smiled as she took in the familiar sights that she hadn't seen for years, mostly because her job at Interpol, chasing Sly, had kept her busy over the years. Thanks to all the training she went through, to become an Inspector at Interpol and to become a Cooper Thief, she now saw several of the items in a new light, as she knew that some of them could be pricey, but she'd never steal from her family... and she also knew that Sly wouldn't allow it either, as she knew that he and his siblings were looking at several of the pieces as well and were restraining themselves to the best of their abilities.
"Carmelita!" a voice happily said, to which Carmelita turned around and found her mother standing at the opening between the entrance hall and the room that was to the left of the entrance, a waiting area since the one to the right was where they'd be eating later, "It's so nice to see you again."
Sly found that Margret Fox definitely looked like an older version of Carmelita, something that Carmelita likely knew about, and discovered that she was wearing a fine red dress that seemed to fit her quite well, though as he prepared to say something he noticed another figure approach them. The newcomer was definitely male and was wearing what appeared to be a police uniform of some kind, though when Sly looked closer he found that Edward Fox, as that was who the person was, happened to be working for Interpol as well, or at the very least some section of Interpol. Just like both Carmelita and Margret, Edward Fox also had the same brownish-orange colored fur, though both he and Marget had slight signs of silver at the tips, showing their age, yet neither of them seemed to care much about the silver and were focused on what was happening at the moment.
"Mom! Dad!" Carmelita said, where she ran forward and embraced her parents, because regardless of what happened to her she knew that neither one of them would banish her from the family, and honestly she wasn't sure she could emotionally survive such a thing if it happened, even with Sly's support, before she pulled away from them, "Sorry I haven't called either of you lately... my life's been pretty chaotic since the heist the Klaww Gang pulled at the Cairo Museum a little over a year ago."
"We heard what happened." Edward stated, causing Carmelita to pause for a moment, as this was what she was afraid of, though at the same time she was happy to see that her father hadn't changed, as while his tone was firm it was also comforting, just like she remembered, before he glanced to the side and looked at the Cooper Gang, "Sly Cooper, allow me to offer my condolences for your loss. Conner was a good friend of mine, just as I was a good friend of his, and it pained me to hear that your house was broken into and that you ended up in that orphanage."
"Th... Thank you." Sly said, though he was surprised to hear that Carmelita's father knew his father, which told him that both families likely knew each other and the relationship likely went back several generations at the very least, which only made him wonder about his family line even more, before he focused on what Carmelita's father had said, "Wait, when you say that you've heard what happened, do you mean..."
"Yes, we learned, from our friend Secretary Sen, that Inspector Barkley fired Carmelita because he felt that she was a corrupt cop, when we both knew that it wasn't true." Margret replied, though at the same time she shook her head for a moment, as if shaking off her annoyance or something, but Sly and the rest of the gang were sure that she had cried a little when that news came to them, "For the first month or two I thought that the reason we weren't being contacted was because Carmelita was either still busy working a case, or she simply withdrew from the world until she was ready to talk to someone. Imagine my surprise when we later discovered that Edward was right, that you joined the Cooper Gang and helped them pull off a heist that exposed Barkley as the true corrupt cop."
"It turns out that, shortly after my father left the force, Barkley's standards seemed to go down while he trained his underlings in a very specific manner," Edward said, though this was all news to the gang, as Secretary Sen hadn't said anything about Barkley since they took all the loot that he was transporting to whatever his destination had been, though Sly was beginning to think that he hadn't told them because he knew that the Foxes would tell them eventually, "Some of the officers that you worked with were corrupt cops from the start, such as Neyla for instance, and some were corrupted along the way, just like the Contessa, though it appears that he also trained some of you to eventually catch your fellow officers in an act of breaking the law... though we're not sure what his motives were, not that it matters since he's going to be punished for his latest actions."
"You mean him attempting to traffic stolen goods into the city his employer worked in?" Carmelita inquired, as now that they had more information it made sense as to why Barkley was trying to get rid of her, once Neyla started to frame her as a 'corrupt cop', as he was afraid that she might find out the truth and bring most of the building down, though from the sounds of it that's what Secretary Sen was doing, "You know, that was actually my trial, stealing all that loot before Barkley even realized that I had done it, and I pulled off my plan with flying colors... and, from the sounds of it, it seems that Barkley is getting what he deserves. Though, if I'm being honest, I'm surprised that the both of you are so willing to accept the fact that I'm dating a criminal and that I've become one."
"It's like I said, Conner was a good friend of ours and we understood that there were good criminals in the world, with the Cooper Clan being one of them," Edward replied, though at the same time he sighed for a moment, no doubt thinking about the past and the time he had spent with Sly's father, before looking at the group once more, "It's not public knowledge, but both Margret and I actually helped Conner a few times over the years, and while we saw the appeal of his lifestyle we both agreed to stay on this side of the law, because without good cops no amount of good criminals could keep the civilians safe. If we were willing to accept the fact that one of our best friends was a criminal, one of the good ones, we should be willing to accept that our daughter had to change professions and become one herself... all because Barkley was an idiot and decided to believe someone that was lying to him."
"That he is." a new voice stated, one that Carmelita also recognized, which was when she and the Cooper Gang turned towards the top of the staircase that was nearby, where Carmelita found an older fox, wearing the attire of a respected Interpol agent that was literally a level below a Secretary, standing at the top step, though as he walked down towards them he smiled, "I told Secretary Sen a year ago that he should have just fired Barkley for his crimes against you, as well as our family, and then put him in prison for allowing such a dangerous agent to further damage the name of Interpol, but, like always, Sen had a plan and it was executed flawlessly. Not only that, but it seems that the person he brought in to clean up the building you used to work in has done his job quite well, though I expected that from Jim Gordon."
"Wait, Jim Gordon? As in the 'Hawk of Gotham City'?" Sly asked, because that was another name in law enforcement that was designed to inspire fear in criminals of all types in the city that he watched over, as there was a very specific ally of his that helped him clean up the streets and he was quite intimidating on his own, "That Jim Gordon?"
"That's correct." the older fox replied, though that was when a smile appeared on his face, showing that he was happy to hear that they knew who he was talking about, before he finally came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs and glanced over at Carmelita for a moment, "Carmelita, my beloved granddaughter, why don't you introduce me to the infamous Cooper Gang."
"Ah you wish, grandfather." Carmelita said, to which she turned towards the rest of the gang, her gang she mentally told herself, and smiled at them, as they were surprised by who was walking down towards them, "Allow me to introduce Sly, Gilda, Derpy, and Diz Cooper, all Cooper Thieves, as well as Bentley, the brains of the gang, and Cogs, his robotic owl companion. Guys, allow me to introduce my grandfather, Haytham James Fox, former candidate as a new Secretary and current head of the more secretive parts of Interpol."
Sly's eyes widened for a moment, as Carmelita's grandfather was someone who could have become a Secretary at one point in time and had been beaten by someone that was more worthy than he was, since the number had to be five Secretaries at any given time, and knew that he was one of the most influential people he was ever going to meet. The fact that he was in charge of the shadowy and unknown sector of Interpol, a rumored section that Bentley often thought about from time to time, meant that he likely knew more about the world than any of them, save for Clockwerk, did, and that he wasn't someone that they wanted to mess with. That made him wonder what sort of traps and challenges he and the gang would find in a building like this, since it was clear that he had a number of treasures that other thieves would come looking for if they knew he had them, but at the same time he pushed his thoughts away from stealing and focused on what was happening at the moment. He had known that the Foxes were tied to Interpol and law enforcement, as that was exactly what Carmelita was doing, and it amazed him that he was meeting powerful individuals like Secretary Sen and Haytham Fox, people he had only heard stories about... though when the man stepped down to where they were standing Sly was the first one to offer his hand, which Haytham Fox started to shake immediately.
He did the same thing for the rest of the gang, pausing to eye the miniature form that Clockwerk was in, before walking over to where Carmelita's parents were standing, where he smiled at all of them, causing them to relax as they waited for him to talk.
"Sen told me that you were being taken care of by the Cooper Gang, and I can see that he was correct," Haytham said, to which he surprised the gang by knowing more than they thought he did, though there was one thing in particular that he was interested in, besides his granddaughter anyway, "I hear that you passed your trial to become a Cooper Thief, Carmelita, and I am familiar with their customs when such a thing happens. Might we see your new cane?"
For a moment Carmelita was surprised that her family knew about the Cooper trials and that, when one succeeded, they were given a cane to celebrate their success, even though in the beginning she knew that the first Coopers crafted their own canes when they were ready, but when she got over her shock she nodded and held out her cane, which she had been holding onto the entire time since they arrived.
"This is such a beautiful cane," Margret said, staring at how polished parts of it were, the silver piece on top that went with all the canes that the Coopers carried, as history made several mentions of them, and how it all flowed into an easily recognizable fox's tail, complete with the two emblems that were important to her daughter, "Who crafted such a beautiful work of art?"
"Actually, I did," Sly spoke up, to which Carmelita looked over at him in surprise, as she was shocked that he had put time into making the cane, as she figured that there was some family friend that she didn't know about that knew how to make there sort of weapons, "The canes that Derpy, Gilda, and Diz carry started out as near perfect copies of my cane, the same one that my father carried, and they only recently modified their canes to fit themselves, but when Carmelita said that she wanted to join the gang, after being fired, I knew what I had to do. I spent the last year carefully working on that cane, in secret so no one else would find out about it before Carmelita did, and I learned everything I needed to learn so I could make something that rivals the others. I wanted her to have something personal, something that bridged her two worlds together, and I simply went with the flow as I molded this cane... and I felt that Carmelita deserved something special, not something that was created by a friend of the family."
"All that's missing is a ring." Edward stated, though that was when the Foxes started laughing, as Sly couldn't believe that one of them had brought up something like that, but as he thought about it he discovered that Edward was smiling as he handed back Carmelita's cane, happy that she had a place to call home after losing Interpol, and he suspected that Edward knew he was doing everything in his power to make Carmelita happy.
As the group headed into the dining room of the building, where Carmelita's parents asked her how she was doing now that she was on the other side of the law, opposite of what she had been earlier, all Sly could wonder at the moment, besides eventually marrying Carmelita one day, was what sort of fate Barkley had brought upon himself... and he knew that, regardless of the punishment, that the man deserved whatever he got.
Barkley knew, from the moment that he received the summons, that he was in deep water, because when someone got a letter, signed by all five Secretaries that governed Interpol, it meant that something serious was happening or the person that received the letter was in serious trouble. If he were to run, without attending the summons, the Secretaries would immediately blacklist his name, preventing him from working in law enforcement again, seize whatever assets that he didn't withdraw, depriving him of his funds, and make sure the other cops were on the lookout for him. He had already annoyed Secretary Sen by firing Carmelita Fox, who he still believed deserved what he had given her, and there was no telling how annoyed the other four were, as he hadn't had the chance to meet them, not that he wanted to, and quickly came to a decision on what he needed to do. Since he knew that his life was about to change, regardless of which route he took, he decided to appear before the five Secretaries and prayed that this was about something else that wasn't about him and the Cooper Gang, as he didn't want to hear about them anymore. It still hurt that Judy Hopps, Carmelita's best friend before she was fired, was immediately raised to the highest ranking Inspector, under Jim Gordon, the hawk that was the new Director of Interpol, and that she was in contact with them, as per the 'arrangement' that Secretary Sen had with the gang.
As he finished that thought he looked up at the building that was in front of him and sighed, as he had reached the location that the Secretaries wanted him to come to, though as he walked into the lobby area the desk clerk had him sign in and take a seat before did anything else. A few minutes later he found himself being called into a room that had a crescent shaped table some distance from the entrance, though as he walked inside the door closed behind him, where the lights came on and he found all five of the Secretaries sitting before him.
Secretary Sen sat in the middle of the group, looking like he was ready to say something important, though at the same time Barkley knew that he was looking for an excuse to fire him, and the folder that was in front of him didn't quell his fear. Sitting to his immediate left was a female cat, which species Barkley had no idea, whose fur was light black colored, with golden yellow markings that had to be Egyptian in origin, and happened to have green colored eyes, though he knew her as Secretary Bast, but because she usually dressed in Egyptian clothing, which he could see under her Secretary attire, some people confused her with the goddess Bastet, which Barkley knew couldn't exist in this world. To her left sat the third member of the five Secretaries, a green scaled snake with the upper body of a female and the lower body of an actual snake, who was wearing a specially made set of attire for her thanks to her unique body, though Barkley identified her as Secretary Kaji. To Secretary Sen's immediate right sat a white feathered owl that seemed to be like Arpeggio, in the sense that his arms and wings were one in the same, but while he was slightly shorter than the rest of the Secretaries he still carried the same power that they did, though he was Secretary Jaxie. Last, and certainly not least, was the man at the left end of the table, where a male jackal, with black fur, sat, though under his attire he was likely wearing some shorts and either no shirt or a gray colored shirt... but, like Secretary Bast before him, he wore some Egyptian inspired tattoos, while at the same time Barkley knew him as Secretary Anu.
These five were the most powerful people in the entirety of Interpol, capable of overturning any decision and changing how the agency ran at a moments notice if they so desired, though he was glad that he had fired Carmelita before they caught wind of what he was doing, otherwise they would have overturned his decision.
"Inspector Barkley, thank you for coming on such short notice," Secretary Kaji said, to which she looked at him like she was going to eat him, one of her scare tactics that worked on pretty much everyone that she used them on, though Barkley was already frightened by the way she said his title, "This is... something... we wanted to discuss with you."
"A... And that would be?" Barkley asked, though at the same time he knew he was doomed, because the way the five of them were looking at him meant that he was in serious trouble, but he hoped that it was just his imagination and that he'd be able to walk out of here without anything happening to him.
"We've learned, from a reliable source, that you knew of the location of the treasures that were stolen from a museum a week or two ago," Secretary Jaxie spoke up, to which some images appeared between where they were sitting and where Barkley was standing, images that showed him standing in front of the treasure in question, helping some goons haul it into the train that it was stolen from, and him making a deal with the person that was supposed to help him bring down the Cooper Gang, only for him to be arrested a day after the treasure went missing, "Not only did you help this man smuggle the treasure out of the city that it was stolen from, but you also used it as an excuse to call in the Cooper Gang, to frame them for the theft and catch them so you could break the deal they have with Secretary Sen."
"Of course, when one deals with the Cooper Gang, things don't always go as planned," Secretary Bast said, speaking like a cat that was toying around with something, or at least that was the vibes that Barkley got from her, even though he was already doomed anyway, "You planned on catching them red handed with the stolen treasure, never aware of the fact that Carmelita likely decoded your message, like the rest of the police officers that remained after Secretary Sen purged your office of the remaining would be traitors, and was on her way to deliver the finishing blow. Of course, as per the usual with the Cooper Gang, we have next to no evidence to suggest that they were the ones behind the train robbery, save for the Cooper calling card, and the missing train car was found some distance away with no treasure inside it. Instead of telling us where the treasure was, and earning some credit to your name, you did the one thing that you were told not to do, and further disgraced your name in the process."
"James Barkley, for your crimes against both Carmelita Montoya Fox, who you fired under false conditions and ruined the life of in the process," Secretary Anu stated, revealing that they must have planned this out, allowing the four of them to speak with Secretary Sen just watched, and that he was doomed, to which he hung his head in shame, "and for your crimes against Interpol, in hiring corrupted cops, corrupting cops in the process, and many other things, such as promoting Neyla while destroying Carmelita's name, you are hereby discharged from Interpol and sentenced to spend the rest of your life behind bars."
Barkley said nothing as the officers on the other side of the door opened the door, cuffed him, and dragged him out of the room, allowing the five Secretaries to either disperse or speak about the next subject that they needed to discuss, of which there would be plenty if they looked at what needed to be done to restore Interpol to what it had been before Barkley damaged it's reputation.
"You mortals are fun to play around with," Bast commented, as there was a closely guarded secret that only the Secretaries knew, one that many people wouldn't believe even if they went out and told them the truth, before she glanced over at one of her fellow Secretaries, "don't you agree, Anu?"
"If you say so, Bast," Anu said, to which he looked at the stack of papers that they still had to go through and knew that they wouldn't be doing anything fun for the next few days, before he stretched and opened the first folder, "At the very least the Cooper Gang should be happy when they hear the news about Barkley."
Secretary Sen nodded his head as he smiled, as right now, if the guards were doing exactly as the five of them had ordered them to do, they could be escorting a defeated Barkley outside, where the press would watch him be placed under arrest and that Interpol was cleaning up the rest of his mess... and then it was only a matter of time until the Cooper Gang, or more specifically Carmelita, learned of his fate.
The meal, to Sly's surprise, went better than what he was expecting, as Carmelita's family was nice once he discovered that they were fine with the two of them being together, though it was clear that they were expecting the two of them to get married at some point. Sly wanted that with all his heart, he really did, though the way that Haytham Fox glanced at them made him wonder if there was one member of the family that knew more than they were letting on, but that was soon followed by Edward Fox seeming to give him similar glances as well. There was something that the two of them knew that he didn't, that much he could tell from the glances that they were giving him, and the rest of the gang seemed to sense this as well, even Clockwerk, who was playing the part of 'Cogs' to the letter and didn't say anything since he had such a distinctive voice, seemed to have the same feelings that they were having. Sly wondered, for the briefest moment, if there was the possibility that Carmelita's grandfather knew that Clockwerk was in the same room as the rest of them, but at the same time he didn't seem to make a big deal out of it.
When the meal was over, and both of Carmelita's parents wanted to talk with her for a few minutes, Haytham Fox beckoned for Sly to follow him for a moment, to which the both of them walked down one of the halls until they came to a specific statue that he wanted to stare at... one that, when Sly looked closely, had a Cooper emblem etched into part of it, though why he had no idea.
"How much do you know of the Cooper Vault?" Haytham asked, surprising Sly for a moment, as the only time he had heard the term was when he read about it in several mentions in the Thievius Raccoonus, while at the same time wondering how he knew about such a secret.
"If I'm being honest, not much." Sly admitted, because if Carmelita's family was going to be open to the thought of Carmelita falling in love with a thief, and becoming one due to the fact that she couldn't be a cop anymore, he decided to be open with them, "Several of my ancestors make mentions of such a place, but they didn't write down where it's located and it's said that the Vault is where each of them hid a portion of the wealth they accumulated during their various heists, so its hard to say if such a place exists or not."
"Oh, the Cooper Vault definitely exists," Haytham replied, to which he stepped up to the statue and rested a hand against the emblem that was on it, which sunk in and revealed a slip of paper, one that he withdrew and handed over to Sly immediately, "Since the Foxes were good friends of the Coopers, something that the public didn't know about, your father and Jim McSweeney, the muscle of his gang, came by one day and dropped off this statue, knowing that we would keep it safe until the time you needed it. If everything went according to their plan, and I have the feeling that it did, then you'll be able to find McSweeney at Heathrow Penitentiary with something very special to give you... something that will lead you right to the location of the Cooper Vault, if what they said is correct."
Sly stared at the piece of paper, detailing the exact location of the prison in question, and knew what Haytham might be thinking, that what the gang needed was one more adventure before he and Carmelita tied themselves together as a family... and, even as Haytham walked away, he knew what they needed to do, to which he headed back to where the rest of the gang was resting, as they would be very interested in what he had to tell them.
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Game three begins
I can never remember if that was something addressed in the Sly Cooper games. Was it ever mentioned that the Fox and Cooper clans were "frenemies" throughout history?
There are no words that need to be said about this.
You have TWO EGYPTIAN GODS as member of the Five Secretaries, and SEN is the most dangerous?!
so many questions...
One of the best things I like to see in a crossover is when the Author deviates from canon to create moments of world-building without it seeming like something that was shoe-horned in. When such moments are done right, it is just beautiful in my eyes. You and Tatsurou are two of the best at it.
Yes! One of my suggestions for the new Director was used! They have a good cop now in charge and Judy is going to have not only a good boss, but a great mentor. Overall this was a sweet chapter and loved how all the Secretaries are all gods, Barkley never stood a chance.
Two Egyptian Gods, a Lamia, a Phoenix, and a White Owl. Makes me wonder what their balancing opposites are in the criminal underworld.
I loved the chapter and I can't wait until they go after the vault.
Suddenly I am hoping that the five secretaries and Sunset meet.
9273870
Why?
Three things
One: did anyone else think of Reginald the Minecraft chicken when they described clockwerks’ disguise?
Two: you have a white owl as a secretary yet you don’t use headwig from Harry Potter.
Three: two of the secretaries are Egyptian gods.
There are a lot of jokes I could make right now but honestly I just really want to use this song.
10964762 For the first, I was going for a miniature owl, not a Minecraft chicken... though I did have to chuckle at the reference.
For the second, I didn't even consider Hedwig when I wrote the chapter.
As for the third, that is correct.