FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The pier, in the moonlight, was silent. Stubbornly so. Stepping on the creaky planks, snapping twigs - even ones he'd picked up - or tapping on anything failed to provoke a response. No errant flutter, no ominous shadow, not even a feeling he was being watched. Being a sensible fellow, he'd spent his opportune lack of sudden violence gauging and arranging things to better suit himself-

Blast. The corner of his eye caught an instant of fluttering shadow in the water in front of him. Fortunately, by the time the wicked serrated-edged talons tore through wood and metal alike, he had already scrambled away.

" I hunted and ate your clan one by one, Cooper. They all ran and hid, while you offer yourself to me as the bait of a trap."

"Then I have you at my advantage!" he forced himself to laugh, dodging remnants of crates sent flying by a huge buffeting wing. Dismayed at the fact that the sturdy pier could hold his weight, but glad not to have to run out in the open with that monstrous thing above him, the thief yanked at a rope and was rewarded with a clattering, screeching mishmash of noises behind him as a crane swung around into his foe.

"First hit to me; by losing surprise, you've already lost the fight!" Dodging away from the faint glow behind him, directing his voice at an angled wall to mislead his hunter's hearing - I should update that technique in a footnote, he thought to himself - he pulled a support, doubled back another way as something crashed into a black wooden shape of his silhouette, and sprang the snare that sent ceramic jars full of olive oil crashing to the floor behind him.

" Pathetic futility. The last thing you'll ever see is just how sanctimonious your family's attitude EYAAAAGH!" Rashid's work with his saw combined with the lack of traction, sending the Owl's leg crashing through the floor. Hoping it wasn't so metal-plated as to be immune to splinters, he cut through another nearby rope that held a crane in check. The screech that came after the crash meant that his estimates were correct after all. A few more minutes' worth of such stall tactics, and he'd make his escape while his blundering foe would-

The world around him was suddenly full of flying shards as the impossibly large Owl's spread wings beat the night air. Dazed and re-injured, he couldn't help but glance back to gauge his opponent's full might. As the great armoured Owl pulled his injured leg up to regain his balance, his massive wings beat up a gust of wind that knocked the little Raccoon on his back and caused their gazes to meet.

Clockwerk's eye sockets now housed the very artifacts the museum was missing, which shone an eldritch light over their new owners' prey. The tiny speck who once thought himself superior to any other, who thought himself a noble gentleman of a career criminal, who once tried to steal from himself, had no ability - had no right - to do anything other than accept his inevitable fate, engraved on the metal orbs that had brushed aside what could have been called his will. Even Sly Cooper, reliving the past of his ancestor and been affected by those terrible eyes once before, felt impending death clutch his heart. Neither Thaddeus then nor Sly now were even able to notice Clockwerk's leg draw up, talons spread, and grip the little morsel. Drawing his head - the hooked metal beak being a mere afterthought - closer, only Sly could describe it accurately, like a microwave in reverse that removed heat instead of inducing it.

" Now the last of my line will cause the end of yours."

*plink*

Clockwerk may have tightened or loosened his grip, but even in the short run, what did it matter?

"-said, let him go and fold your wings now!"

The Owl's mechanical stare did not falter as he let go, denying any interruptions as he ate his prey in one-

"Right then, all at once! Fire!"

A hail of bullets from pistols and rifles ricocheted off his armour and landed hard where there was none. The close proximity screech nearly deafened the limp Raccoon, but more importantly, it caused the predator to turn its gaze on the new threat. Thaddeus found himself able to breathe again as the police force found itself faltering and thought to himself, "It's about bleeding time, Cecile..." Focusing his strength toward the arm that still gripped his cane, it reached out... and dropped down underneath him.

All according to Contingency Plan Theta, as his cane hooked around a now-load-bearing support, and pulled it loose.

Inspector Cecile del Zorro and company all swore in unison three times that night: after seeing just how large and dangerous the forewarned Owl was, getting a flash from its eyes that made their organs shudder, and when a third of the pier gave way, sending both the Owl and its prey crashing into the dark water below. By the time the first to reload took their second round at the soaking, injured predator, it had already managed to take wing, and wasn't fazed by any attempted shots.

"Don't just stand there! He's out of range! Move up, investigate!" Cecile charged toward the pier's base, shouting out orders as she went. "You! Get half the team on that thing's tail! Commandeer something if you've got to! The rest of you! Help me search through all this wreckage for- Look, what's that over there?"

Nearby, a small yacht was gathering speed away from the pier. A lantern on its stern revealed a sleek silhouette waving an arm back and forth at the police as it sailed away.

"That's torn it, they're both giving us the slip! I want - Oh, what is it now?"

A sleepy, meek police Dog pointed down at Cecile's feet. "Could be a clue, ma'am."

It turned out to be a blue drawstring bag with a familiar insignia woven on it. It was immediately upended and its contents examined:

"Eighty francs, button-on false shirtsleeves, a cross and false papers... Hah, he's crossing the channel and must be heading for Manche! All right, the rest of you, I want someone in Granville tomorrow, and I want that pursuit to be hot! What're you lot waiting for? Move out!"

The same meek police Dog hesitated enough to ask, "But what about you, ma'am?"

"I'll..." the Vixen gave a long, exhausted sigh and looked out over the ruined pier. "I'll investigate here, then file a report. You should get some sleep. I know I could use some."

"B-but, well, ma'am, it's uh, it's policy to - uh, all right then..." As he stumbled off, Cecile strolled onto what was left of the pier and scowled at her feet. "All this reckless destruction... And I suppose you thought of it as part of your merry game, too..."

"Well, I find that nothing's quite as entertaining as one's imminent demise, wouldn't you say?" The weary Raccoon smiled up at her from his hiding place in the scaffolding. "Incidentally, your leisurely stroll here came not a moment too soon! Rashid! Rashi- argh, help me up!"

"I ended up having to do most of the prep work," the Crocodile grinned proudly. "I even built the decoy on the boat. I used a pendulum to make the arm wave!"

"Shame he didn't ask you for help on the bag of clues, but then subtlety in his mind runs more to his disguises... So, how does an audacious burglar gain an armoured flying monster as a nemesis all of a sudden?"

"Actually, it wasn't as sudden as it may have seemed. Every member of my family tree who penned a chapter of our book gave passing references to airborne surveillance or attacks at night. Most likely, I just became aware of a hidden vendetta between two long lines of career criminals. Fortunately, that one did mention being the last of his line, so the world will have to manage with the more benign one. I believe this means I've helped shed new light on a maniacal serial murderer, whom it's now your job to apprehend."

"Bah, he's after you and your kind, so I can just nick him when he strikes again." Cecile gave a grin to rival Rashid's and added, "Besides, police custody would be the safest place when he-"

"-Comes smashing through the walls, bristling with even more ridiculous objects? Then who would finance your department and put already-stolen funds back into the economy?"

Rashid could see where that train of thought was going, and decided to hold it up before it switched tracks. "If you don't marry, you could always leave your estate to me. I always take good care of it during your... trips. You've got one coming up, too."

"My- oh, yes, that's right! You should be happy to have a well-deserved rest, Inspector del Zorro, due to the end of this year's spectacular crime wave. Coincidentally, I'll be taking a brief trip to, shall we say, a bucolic part of the Pacific Ocean to pen some memoirs. I hope to meet up with Otto, or even that incorrigible 'Tennessee Kid' and warn them not to look any giant Owls in the eye. You two have given me the help to upstage whatever new tricks they've devised, so I'll find something one of them brought back for each of you upon my return."

Cecile just rolled her eyes and got to her feet. "Yes, enjoy your vacation. I've got reports to fabricate and sleep to miss. Hopefully, by the time you return, you can find an actual rival who isn't intent on your murder." Without so much as a good-bye, the trio split off into the night.

MEMORIES SYNCHRONIZED. PLEASE TAKE A BREAK OF AT LEAST FIFTEEN MINUTES EVERY HOUR TO AVOID EYE STRAIN.

For the last time, Sly hopped to his feet and looked up at the room's only window.

"Well, there you have it. The origins of Clockwerk, Thaddeus Winslow Cooper's double life revealed, his woman on the inside, and hey, whadda ya know, the butler did do some of it, I guess. Also, thanks for showing me what a heart attack was like over a hundred years ago. All this being recorded, Fox?"

"No, I- uh, she's not even here, Sly-" the voice started, but was already trailing off in realized embarrassment.

"Yup, I knew it all along. If there's no tape of me outside that thing, why don't you come on in and explain it all? I promise I won't tell."

The distorted image of Bently lay silent in the window as the door opened. Trying to hide embarrassment under righteous indignation, Sly's fiancée, Inspector Carmelita Fox stepped in and immediately took the offensive.

"You knew it all along? You lied to me! Again! Nothing had to be reconstructed, which meant you've had no brain damage at all!"

"Yeah, well you lied to me after I faked it, then lied to me about being Bently and why you went poking around in my brain and the magic memory bits of my DNA. Did you have orders to find something someone else did and nail me for that?"

She paused, conflicted, then hung her head with a relenting sigh. "Since nobody had enough time to study Clockwerk's parts while they were in custody, I was asked to see if you knew more about his origin... and look for loose ends to unsolved crimes."

Sly almost frowned for a second, then put a finger on the Vixen's chin so she could see him wink. "Hey, out of anyone who'd violate my rights and my organs, I'm glad it was you. Besides, you lied to save me before and we didn't really get anything meaningful about him, other than how he had to resort to ancient magic sci-fi relics.

"But I-"

"Look at it this way: the project was a waste, and all you got out of it was that my family made barrels, and Clockwerk's family's legacy ended when he got smashed to bits by your ex-partner. Then we can be happy because my family's legacy ends with me giving it up to join the good guys, and all because of you! We still take down crooks and mob bosses, only together now. If someone asks us to do it again, I just won't give my consent. Innocent until proven guilty, right?"

Carmelita bunched her fists, gritted her teeth, tensed her legs... and turned around to head up the stairs to the control room. "All right," she huffed over her shoulder, "I'll keep your secrets, but nobody's going to trust you more because of it! And this time, I get to pick where we go tonight!"

"Anything you say, love. As long as it isn't Fish & Chips, anything you say."