Sly Cooper

And

The Shadow Thief

Chapter Eleven: The Battle and The End

Last Time:

She heard him coming from behind, and she dodged out of his way before he could hit her with the long metal rod. But then he hit her from the side, something she hadn't been expecting. When she dodged she had side-stepped him to miss the first blow that would have come down on her head if she hadn't moved. But then he took the pole like a baseball player, and whacked her hard in the stomach quickly after. All the air left Merah, and she crumpled to the floor, gasping for air. She was dizzy, and she didn't know if she was going to live or die, but she suspected it was the latter.

000

"Broken ribs," Merah said, sounding a little bit annoyed. "Well… cracked. Max got me in the stomach, mostly, so I have one nasty bruise. I'll have to stay here for a little bit."

The question Sly had to ask he wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to. He took Merah's hands in his, and asked softly, "And… the baby?"

Merah looked down at the floor, and then looked back up at him, the tiniest hint of a smile on her face. "There was no baby."

Sly looked sad for a minute, and then he smiled, and gave Merah a kiss. "Too bad… I was kind of looking forward to the thought of kids."

"You were?" Merah asked, surprised. Sly nodded.

"Being called 'Daddy' would have been a nice change." He said. Merah smiled.

"We'll see…" She said slowly. Then she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot…"

He reached from under her pillow, and pulled a huge book out from beneath it. It wasn't just any old book, though; it was the Thievius Raccoonus. Sly gaped at it.

"How…?"

"After Dad knocked Max down into one of the fire pits, he went to look for it, and found it easily. He remembered I mentioned trying to help you get it back, so… he went and got it." Merah handed the heavy book to him. Then she added with a smile, "Surprise."

A few days later after all the events with Max took place, Merah was finally able to come home from the hospital. The wait seemed like forever to Sly, and he would be so happy once they were back home. One they were all back home.

As they rode in the van, driving into town, Sly's mind went back to the conversation he had had with Zeke the night everything took place. When Sly had first entered his room, Zeke glowered at him with detest, but then ordered him to sit down in a chair by the bed. His arm had been in a sling, and it still was. He was riding in the van with them to go and see Merah, but it would be a long time before he would be able to use his arm properly again.

Zeke had just stared at Sly coldly for the longest time, and Sly finally broke the uncomfortable silence by saying thank you for to Zeke for saving his life from the bullet, and retrieving the Thievius Raccoonus; even if it was only for Merah.

Zeke started his 'talk' by asking a whole bunch of questions about Sly, and what sort of heists he had done in the past. Sly answered each one without hesitation, but he couldn't help feel as if he was being interrogated. Eventually, Sly just started retelling stories, some of the same stories he had told Merah when they first met, about all the heists he, Bentley and Murray pulled together, and how they had recruited Penelope, The Guru, Dimitri and the Panda King to help him unlock the Cooper Vault.

Then Sly started recapping the events that had unfolded while Merah was on the team. He left out the bits where he had Merah had gotten really romantic, even if it was only for jobs; like making out to eavesdrop on Nyoka and Christopher.

Soon, Zeke and Sly were laughing together about heists that Zeke had pulled, and they started talking about other things, like hobbies, books, art, and the sort. It was then that Zeke asked the question Sly had been contemplating for some time now, ever since he and Merah had accidentally gone a little too far.

"Are you thinking of proposing to her?"

This simple question had played and replayed over and over in Sly's head every day while Merah was in the hospital, and eventually he made his decision. And that was all that had really happened up until then, when they were riding in the van.

"Hey, Murray, stop here for a second, okay?" Sly asked as he noticed a store he was supposed to pick something up from. "I need to get something here…"

Sly ran in quickly, grabbed what he needed to get, and then came back to the van, looking a little bit nervous. Zeke clapped him on the shoulder when he came back in, a proud smile on his face. Since their talk in the hospital, Zeke and Sly had gotten along like father and son.

"Don't worry, m'boy," Zeke said. "She wouldn't dream of saying no."

"I just hope she'll like the ring, that's all…" Sly confessed, holding out the box with the ring he was planning to give to Merah inside. Yep. He was going to propose. Zeke took the box, and opened it. He gazed at it in shock for a moment, and then shot Sly a fond smile.

"I think she'll like it very much," He said.

At the hospital, the others told Sly they would wait out in the lobby. They all wanted to give him some privacy when he popped the question to Merah. He told them he wouldn't be long, and found his way alone to her room.

When he entered, she was sitting on her newly made hospital bed, chatting with the nurse. She was giving Merah's ribs a last-minute inspection before she left, and telling her what she needed to do for the bones to heal properly. Sly waited until the nurse was done with her prepping before he cleared his throat, and Merah looked up when she heard him. A huge smile spread across her face, and she jumped off her bed, literally leaping at him. He caught her, and hugged her tightly as he dared, not wanting to hurt her again. Then he let her go, and smiled.

"I am so ready to get out of here," Merah said to him, taking his hands.

"Remember, Merah," The nurse said sternly, starting to leave the room. "Rest. You'll hurt yourself if you don't."

"I will," Merah promised the nurse. "Bye, Vicky."

Vicky the nurse left with a wave, and Sly and Merah were alone. He exhaled deeply, trying to clam his fast-beating heart for what he was about to do.

"I have a question I want to ask you," He said. Merah just looked at him curiously, but waited patiently for him to ask. Sly reached into his pocket, and pulled out the little box holding the ring. Getting down on one knee, he held the box out to her, and opened it. Merah looked at the ring and then at him with an expression of total surprise.

"Merah," Sly said slowly. "Will you marry me?"

She brought a hand up to her mouth, just looking at him for the longest time. And then he heard her start to laugh, but he knew she wasn't laughing to make fun of him; she was laughing because she was happy.

She didn't say anything. She just nodded, and jumping to his feet, Sly grabbed her into a kiss, which she had no trouble returning. When she pulled away to look at the ring, though, she looked at him in surprise, and then took it out of the box.

It was silver, with a round-cut sapphire set into it. And, on the band, was her name. Although instead of reading Merah Serenity Alana Lynn Rose Ringo, which was her full name, it read Merah Serenity Alana Lynn Rose Cooper. The ring looked exactly like her mother's ring.

"Sly…" She said breathlessly, looking up from the ring to gaze into his eyes. She was lost for words. Sly took the ring from her hand, and slipped it onto her finger.

"I remembered what it looked like when we went out that day," He said, smiling. "You seemed so fascinated by it that I had a copy made."

"It's…" Merah looked back down at the ring, and then flung her arms around Sly's neck. She hugged him tightly for a moment, and then said, "It's beautiful. Thank you. Does my father know?"

"I asked his permission first," Sly confessed. "I figured he should have had a say in it, too, and besides, I owed him for saving my life and getting the Thievius Raccoonus back."

"And he's okay with it?" Merah asked, sounding a little surprised. Sly nodded.

"Ever since I talked to him, we've been getting along great," He said. "It's kind of funny really."

Merah looked at her ring again, and smiled. "It's gorgeous. Thank you so much. You couldn't have chosen a better ring."

Sly pulled her into a kiss then, and then Merah suddenly pulled away, thought there was a small smile on her lips. "You could have chosen a more romantic setting, though."

"I didn't want to wait," Sly answered with a charming smile. "Come on, the others are out in the lobby waiting for us."

When Sly and Merah came around the corner into the lobby, everyone ran at her. Penelope got there first, and she hugged Merah. When she saw the new ring on her finger, she smiled.

"I knew you two were going to end up together," She said. "Way to go, Sly."

"Congratulations to the both of you," Bentley said in a formal way, but Sly could tell he was just trying to conceal his happiness while they were still in the hospital. Merah bent down, and gave him a kiss on the cheek. Bentley's response to this was a very surprised expression, and of course, he turned as red as an apple again. Penelope didn't mind, though.

Murray came, and gave Merah a gentle hug, knowing that he would hurt her if he hugged her as tight as he normally would have. She returned it, and after ruffling the Guru's hair, she turned to her father. His arm was still in a sling, but he hugged her anyway. Merah hugged him back tightly. Now that all of this was over with Max, this was the first time it had really dawned on her that Zeke's being alive was reality. She was almost in tears.

"I'm so proud of your fight, Merah." Zeke whispered, stroking her hair. He pulled away from her, and put a hand on her cheek. "I don't think I could have trained a better thief. Or raised a better daughter."

"Thanks, Dad." Merah said softly. Zeke's lip started to tremble then, and Merah quickly hugged him again. He buried his face into her shoulder.

"You're the spitting image of Serenity," Zeke said. "She would have been so proud of you, too."

"I know," Merah answered, smiling. "I know she would."

After Zeke had calmed down a little bit, Sly came forward, and put an arm around Merah. It was then that Zeke reached up and messed up his hair.

"I'll beat you if you don't take care of her properly," Zeke said sternly, but it was obvious he was joking by the friendly gesture. Sly patted down his hair, and grinned at Zeke.

"You don't have to worry, sir," He said, pulling Merah close, and she rested her head on his shoulder. "She's in good hands."

About a year later, Merah and Sly were wed. They had invited the whole gang, Dimitri and a few of his girlfriends, and even the Panda King and his daughter, Jing King. Sly felt it was only right, as Panda King had helped with the whole Cooper Vault heist.

They even invited Carmelita and Nick, who were in a serious relationship now. Both Merah and Sly agreed that they should come as they were a big help with arresting Max, even if their action and participation were limited. They got engaged the night of the wedding reception; Carmelita caught to bouquet.

Both Bentley and Murray stood as Sly's best men, and Penelope stood as Merah's Maid of Honor. As of yet, Bentley and Penelope still aren't engaged, but Sly's been pushing him to ask her for a long, long time. He's thinking about asking her soon.

If anyone can actually believe it, Murray and Jing King hit it off really well when they met at the reception. Panda King also seemed to approve of Murray. Could he possibly being Jing King's new husband? I dunno, but time will tell.

Zeke stuck around for a while, even after Sly and Merah were married, and then he decided to go on a sabbatical around the world. He came come two months earlier than planned when he heard that Merah was pregnant. Yes, for real, this time. Sly and Merah had a baby girl, and named her Sarah. Three years later, they had a boy named Joshua.

At a young age, Sarah showed a great interest in becoming a thief. She would pull out the Thievius Raccoonus whenever she could find where her mom hid it, and 'look at all the pretty pictures'. Josh wasn't as interested in the field-man thieving aspect as Sarah was, much to Sly's disappointment, but he found that Josh wanted to take after Murray, and be a getaway driver. He and Murray would spend countless hours playing racing games on their game consol. Josh always won.

Carmelita and Nick were married a year after Merah and Sly, and they had a son around the same time Sarah was born, a month earlier. His name is Michael, and now that he and Sarah are teenagers, they have a relationship going on. Merah didn't know, though, and Sarah would rather keep it that way. Sly, however, would follow them, just to make sure they didn't go too far. He kept his distance, though. He figured if Sarah seemed to like Michael so much, so be it.

The Coopers bought a fairly large house in Paris. Zeke lived in the in-law suite attached to the house, and he helped Sly train his over-eager daughter in thieving. She's good at it, and may even become a master at it before she's eighteen. This is something Sly's happy about.

Max is still in prison. He's made a couple of futile attempts to escape, but Carmelita, who's been keeping Merah informed about him, caught him each time. The security around his cell is so tight, not even Sly could get in there. Guards are on duty around the clock, and there are so many sensors and lasers in front of the bars on his cell. Carmelita doesn't think he'll be getting out anytime soon, which makes Merah very relieved.

Ever since Carmelita and Nick had helped Merah and Sly, the two couples ended up staying good friends. Sly hasn't been out thieving for a while, partially because he's too busy helping out with a family and training his daughter in arts of thievery, so Carmelita has no reason to arrest him. They'll still see each other on a regular basis as friends, and even Merah gets along well with Carmelita now.

So, I guess this is the end of this story. Everyone, except for Max, lived happily ever after.

THE END

Sly: Yeah, you knew everything was going to turn out alright.

A/N: Ta da! It's all done. Hoped you liked it. The ending… I didn't like. At all. But this is only… the third time I've actually managed to finish a story, so… consider yourselves lucky I did finish it. I'm gonna work on my endings. And writing my stories with more and longer chapters.

Anyway, I hoped you all liked this story. I enjoyed writing it. Thanks for all the reviews, and I hope you'll look out for my future Sly stories. I'm working on a new one already. I'll also be posting it on the Sucker Punch website.

Laters!