(Semi-Sly POV)

Paris.

The city of love and culture for everyone either visiting or living can enjoy from just the sights alone, night or day. The camera panned over the many buildings, the Eiffel Tower, and soon near the veranda of an expensive hotel stood a figure.

"Hello there, I'm Sly, Sly Cooper."

The voice over began while showing an adult raccoon, wearing a 2-piece black suit, loose red tie, and groomed hair. His fur a light gray and darker gray line around his eyes and head like a line as he stared down at the city bellow. With a lean, fit form, he had a small smile from the sight and enjoyed it greatly, leaning on the edge.

"I'm nothing more than an average cop at Interpol, one of the largest law enforcement agencies of the world, branching out into multiple sectors of the globe, not limited to just this city. Sure I'm one of the best at my work, but of course, I couldn't have done it alone, not without such a great partner."

He narrated as someone soon walked up behind him, making him smile with the camera panning up an adult fox woman. Wearing a form fitting blue dress, long dark blue hair, a purse under her arm with a set of cuffs in them. The dress was a decent contrast for her bright orange and yellow fur, the woman smiling at him.

"Carmelita Fox, best partner I could ever ask for."

He said as she moved closer, fixing his tie, both sharing a laugh as they hugged.

Later, they were seen mingling with other people in their outfits, clinking glasses while eating small Hors-d'oeuvres.

"Now I'm not complaining about my life, it's perfect with a great job, amazing and beautiful partner, and I'm a respected official."

On screen, Sly was looking around, until his eyes widened at the sight of a certain priceless golden egg in a nearby glass case. He walked over, placing a gloved hand on the glass and his eyes shined over while staring directly at it.

"But in the back of my mind, there's a piece of my mind I feel is missing, namely for what makes me want to steal when I'm a police officer."

He said, his on screen self shaking his head shaking as he backed away, Carmelita holding his arm in worry, Sly holding hers with a reassuring smile.

"I don't tell her, so as to not worry her, but I know she'll catch on eventually, she always does, all I can do is just focus on my work."

A later shot had him standing once again on the veranda, wearing a black turtleneck, brown gloves, black shoes, and brown shorts on. On his upper left pec was a starred badge and a set of plans in his hands as he scanned them over and over again.

"Keeping myself distracted with our work, I found the best way to spend my time was scanning plans for nearby crooks. That was my specialty, I scan and work out the best places to sneak and get the jump on the criminals and Carmelita takes them out. Admittedly I'm not the best with it at times, but I make up for it on my own fighting skills and stealth."

He said as he wrote over various parts with a marker, using the night air to breathe and relax as he continued his work.

Twitch twitch~!

Until his ear twitched, feeling a change in the wind.

"But something tells me..."

He began as he darted his head around, until he saw on the door to the veranda a note, making him scrunch his eyes as he moved closer.

"After tonight, I'll get my answers."

He said as he opened the note and read it.

"Sly, I know you know something is wrong with all of this, and I plan to help. If you want the answers you seek, come to the old warehouse at the edge of the city.

-A Friend."

It read as the raccoon hummed, staring off into the night air.

Later:

(3rd POV)

'Okay, this is the place.'

Sly thought to himself as he adjusted himself while staring up at an old, rundown, and close to collapsing building. As every other building in Paris was new or renovated in a way, this building was the only possible building the note referred to. After making sure he was safe from Carmelita following him, he left when he knew she was either busy or asleep. He wasn't much for answering a call from such a vague, suspicious note, but the wording got him.

'Whoever sent it was after me, and I need answers.'

He thought as he clenched his hands and marked the door, making his way into the building, finding it pitch black. Cautiously, he stepped closer inside, holding a standard shock pistol, ready to fire.

"Attention, whoever sent me that note, you got me, I'm here. What do you want?"

He asked loud enough to be heard, his voice echoing in the building, his ears on alert for any signs of movement.

Click~!!

SWISH~!!!

Sly backed away when hearing some mechanism cracking to life, a few lights going on as he watched on. To his confusion, he saw two different sized platforms spring from the floor, one a little taller than the other.

'Okay, this is weird...'

He thought, both at that and the sign that says:

"GO UP"

It read as he lowered his gun, humming as he made his way closer, the first platform was over a foot taller than him.

"Guess I have to use the hard way."

He said as he backed away before he raced over and jumped, soon high enough to land safely on it, his feet sliding slightly. Exhaling, he stood straighter, better seeing the next one, which made him frown.

"Might as well."

He said as he backed away slightly and then ran even faster than before, jumping up, but thanks to physics, he wouldn't make it so easily.

'Crap!!'

///

The front image of a figure running at high speeds was filling his vision, his dark blue and yellow gloves moving before him and sliding back, on holding and oversized hook cane. It cleared to that of a roof's edge, where his form jumped up and then made it halfway to the next building. Though even with the speed, he was bound to fall from his great height, had he not actually jumped off of thin air.

Swish~!!

Landing perfectly on the other roof before he ran.

///

'H-huh?'

He thought as, with muscle memory, his body boosted himself up and then onto the other platform, his feet sliding. Panting slightly, he turned to the gap as he rubbed his head in confusion for what he saw and did.

"D-did... did I just... jump off of thin air?"

He asked himself as he shook his head, seeing his next obstacle, a ladder to a higher level, which he instantly took and climbed higher. When he did make it to the next level, he saw that he was in front of a tight rope stretching all the way across the room.

'Great, I'm gonna need to be careful here.' He thought while looking down, seeing a rather deep drop if he isn't careful.

///

A new memory appeared, that of him racing toward a string of lights above the road, the building too far away to jump, double or not.

Yet his form didn't stop running.

SWISH~!!

Instead, he jumped upward, spinning in place as his skinny feet landed on the rope perfectly, not slipping or tilting. If anything, he walked on the rope like he was on solid ground as he moved forward and to the other building.

///

'There it is again, what is it?' Sly thought while rubbing his eyes in pain as he tried to clear his mind, while looking at the rope.

Taking a deep breath, and a few steps back, he ran forward like he did in brain dream, jumping up and spinning in place.

Streeettch~!!

The sides of the rope dipped slightly from his added weight, but he kept calm, almost as if he's done this a hundred times before. Ever so slowly, he began walking on the rope, looking around to see there was still a long way to the top. Whoever was running this, he was testing Sly and for some reason, putting all these obstacles in his way.

'Either way, I'm on to whoever is running this.' He thought, making his way to the other side, jumping off the rope and on the other plank.

"Now what?" He asked himself while looking around, only seeing a pipe on the platform he stood on.

SHIMMER~!!

"Huh?"

He swore now he was seeing things, because certain blue particles shouldn't be covering a simple pipe in front of him. Rubbing and pinching his eyes, he tried to stay calm, even if he could still clearly see the small lights all around the metal pipe.

'Great, I'm too young for vertigo.' He thought with a grumble as he reached closer to touch the pipe, though didn't feel a thing. Looking back at his hand, he didn't see any mark on his glove or anything odd with his hand underneath, making him sigh in relief.

'Either way, I'm seeing an eye doctor after this.'

He determined as he began climbing his way upward the pipe, holding on tight as he continued to a new level, all while he was curious on how he knew this. Sure he's chased after criminals in the past, he didn't stay behind them for long, always being a little faster than them. Added to that, he never had to race off any ropes or jump high enough to defy physics and perform like an acrobat.

'Wish I knew sooner, would've made some of those other cases much easier.' He thought, easily knowing a dozen different situations where the chase could've gone much quicker had he done these moves.

Making his way to the next platform, he stood up, his eyes widening when seeing the next challenge.

"Oh that's just unfair."

Swinging side to side, suspended by ropes to the far ceiling were four overgrown hooks as they swung in different directions.

Shimmer~!

And what made it worse, he could see the familiar blue sparks cover them, the very hooks themselves.

"Okay, whoever made this is just being rude." Sly said to himself with a grumble, not seeing himself ever trying that.

///

SWISH~!!

Leaping from a small ledge on the rainy compound of an unknown building, his form spun back in place as he landed. Below him was a spiked cage line, with a few more up ahead, which he continued on with the same process over and over.

Jump, spin, and land.

It wasn't long before he was in a safe area on the other end, where he continued his running.

///

"Unless he isn't..." Sly said to himself as he squinted his eyes at the spiked hooks, as well as the growing height beneath him.

Taking a deep breath, he backed up a few steps before racing forward like he did in his weird brain vision, jumping upward. With a quick spin in mid air, stopping his forwarding momentum, as well as keeping his feet together going back down. Flinching, he landed rather safely on the hook while it continued swaying back and forth in the air, his tail swaying in the wind.

'Phew, I was scared for a second.' He thought with a small exhale as he looked down, seeing his feet safely on the spike he aimed for.

Seeing the remaining hooks sway around before him, he nodded as he started his greater stretch forward out of this place.

Fwoosh~!!

Repeating the same steps like before, he jumped forward and landed right on the spikes as they swayed side to side. Despite this, he continued forward and was somehow able to land on them with the mid air spin doing so. Defying physics aside, he jumped and spun around more and more till he made it right across and landed safely on the across pad. Sighing out in relief, he looked between the hooks and his own feet, confused with how he just knew where to land with his feet.

'Getting the hang of this.' He thought with a smile as he shook his legs, feeling as though a small burn passed through them, as if he hasn't used them in a while.

CH-CHUNK~!!!!

Looking back, he saw the hooks not disappear like every other mechanism, but instead just rise a bit higher than before. The raccoon frowned as his new trick wouldn't help in this case with how much higher up they were for him to grab. Double jump or not, it wouldn't even be high enough for the tips of his fingers to graze even the bottom of the hooks.

"Now what?"

Pssssssss~...

Jumping from his side, he stared at the sound of compressed air right at his feet, showing it to be a small cylinder rise. He watched in confusion as it rose to being right as tall as he was, up to his ears, to show a small pair of doors. Still on edge, he watched cautiously as it slowly opened up, some steam escaping from the bottom as it opened fully.

What he saw left him speechless.

Almost as long as he was was a very unique looking weapon, that of a mostly thin wood handle with a silver end. Its greatest draw was the very top, being a two foot, gold like metal on a small silver bit, curved in a hook like design. Albeit simplistic in its look, seeing it made his eyes widen in awe and surprise as he raised a gentle hand toward it.

SWISH~!!!

As he gripped it in his hand, he couldn't help but feel a bit of a connection with it as he focused more on it than the descending cylinder. Swaying and even twirling it around, he found it perfectly balanced in his hold, setting it in a pointed fencing yield forward. Jab, slash, and a few twirls, it was like holding a specially made bo-staff for him, ready to use for any occasion.

"Perfect."

Staring at the hooks as they swayed side to side, then to his new cane, he didn't need three guesses to know what he needed to do now.

TINK!!

With his cane raised, he jumped forward and looped it right into the hook from above, making him swing around like a dangling fish on a line. Swinging his weight back and forth like a child does on a playground, he soon waved forward with a small kick and unhooked himself.

TINK... TINK... TINK...

Again he was back and forth throughout this whole building and was going on the hooks like a monkey on vines in the jungle. All the while he smiled like he remembered feeling in those flashbacks he's had while he jumped and spun around. Not too long did he land on the opposite edge with a wide spread of his legs, cane firmly grasped in hand, he felt like a real master of the environment.

"Phew~! Now that was fun~!"

Twirling his can around as he stood up, he beamed down at the reflective metal and saw his own reflection in it, seeing various scratches and age marks. Doing so, he felt something deep down inside him, something that had been buried for a long while at the sight of himself. Doing all these random jumps and tests made see and remember things he doesn't remember, but felt just right. Blaming muscle memory or his own instincts couldn't factor entirely, but could still like he was in his element doing all of that.

'I've seen this before...'

Sliding a hand down the edge of the cane's hilt, he squinted his eyes, feeling as though he's seen this all before.

////

"Papa, what's that?"

A young voice asked as he pointed up toward the very cane he now held in his hands, leaning against the wall for a small home. From his point of view, he was much shorter than the can, towering over him like many other things and couldn't look away.

Poof~!

"That my boy is my old cane."

His head turned to the side as he saw the legs of an older raccoon with long blue boots and crossed arms, one of his hands holding a small pipe that had some smoke.

"Used it a lot on so many adventures and in many wonderful heists." He added on with a small chuckle and nostalgic voice while admiring his can. As he did, his son stared at the cane in awe for the cane as he felt his father pat the top of his small tuft of hair.

"Where'd you get it?" Asked the younger raccoon if he wanted to touch the cane and perhaps hold it, if not for the fear of it being too heavy for him, all while his father chuckled.

"From my father, your grandfather. He got it from his father, his father's father, and so on, having been in our family for generations. All of us have used this cane to prove not only our skill, but our wit and creativity to the world, showing us to be the very best."

He began while he knelt down to rub the younger raccoon's back as he stared at the cane in even greater awe for what that cane held. From both great experience and a long lasting form of family's trust to not only use it themselves, but pass it down through the generations.

"We've all used it and I myself think I proved my right to use it just like each and every other member of our family. My thieving days are however long since behind me, before I had you and met your mother before you were born. You Sly however, will continue the line and be a great master thief like every other master thief before you."

Poof~!

The young raccoon stared at his dad in pure adoration as he gave a crooked smile toward his one and only child. With one of his eyes unable to open, his face aged with grace from his words, and a large corn cob pipe resting in his mouth. Even in a memory, the raccoon could feel the love and pride for his boy as he stared at him with his one good eye.

"You'll be a great thief Sly, like all great Cooper's before you."

///

Sly stared out in awe and shock as that memory entered his mind, being the final thing to stop all his other memories from flooding back all at once. The ones of him spinning and jumping having cleared part of his mind, this last one acting like a catalyst for all others. From various parts where he was using those same moves in both training and in many, MANY, life or death situations.

"I'LL WIPE ALL YOU COOPER'S OUT..."

"Sly, come in, Sly!"

"Apologies citizen, the thunder flop knows neither friend nor foe."

"I'll find you, Cooper!"

"Blasted! You've beaten me!!"

"Ah, seems I have a trespasser on my island, do be kind and relinquish that cane for me, will you?"

So many different places, faces, all numbers of fights, sneaking, stealing, so much more flooded his mind. Eyes widening, he felt as though a greater, larger part of himself had returned after being buried from years without use. His grip on the can shook between nervous, overwhelmed, and especially shocked to count a few of the whirlwind he felt. There was a reason why he remembered all these practices and why he was so used to using this cane.

"My God..." He said, looking down, trying to collect his thoughts.

"You remember now?"

The already startled raccoon flinched when hearing a voice from the side, followed by the sounds of slowly squeaking wheels. Stepping into the light was a figure that reached up to Sly's lower chest thanks to the wheelchair he now rode in. Sitting on it was a smiling, bespectacled tortoise with a safari cap, matching vest, gloves, and a weapon behind him. Sly was ready to question who it was, but his ongoing memory recovery grew to know exactly who this reptile was.

"Bentley...?"

"Ha, I've missed you, partner." Bentley smiled as he was soon across from Sly as the taller of the two didn't waste any more time and scooped him right up. While surprised at first, the turtle chuckled as he hugged him right back, both enjoying the moment after so long apart.

After a few more moments, Sly set Bentley right back down on his chair as he smiled wide at his friend.

"Bentley, I have so many questions, but I'm so happy to see you! What's going on? What happened? Where's Murray?" Sly fired off questions like a machine gun as Bentley waved his hands to try and calm him down for his expected excitement.

"Easy easy, I'll explain everything. Come on, we have a lot to discuss."

Turning his chair, Bentley led Sly through the door that he came through with the taller of the two following, cane swaying under his hold. He had so many questions and wanted to know them right away, all while he followed his lifelong friend into a sizable meeting room. How long has he been out of action, what happened after their last adventure, did something bad happen?

Why was there a gap between his time during their last adventure to know when thinking about his friends, or even remembering hearing about them.

"Can I at least ask what's going on?" Sly asked as he stopped next to a chair where his friend continued wheeling forward.

GLEAM~!

Right as a giant screen lit behind him, as well as a small pedestal rising from the floor to right at his essential height. On it rested a very old book, downright ancient, with a red leather hard cover, gold lettering, and a small emblem embedded on it. It was stuffed with many browning pages extending out the edges of it, as well as gold corners and a lock on it. Seeing it made Sly's eyes shoot back open when seeing the rather ancient book, especially when Bentley opened it to a random page.

Swish~!

The pages overflowing with all numbers of information, drawings, secrets new and old from generations of master thieves spread across the globe as he stared at it fondly.

"The problem is Sly..."

Shimmer~...

Sly visibly shook when seeing the information of the pages suddenly float out of the book and outright disappeared from sight. Seeing it drew a dry gasp from the raccoon as he stared back down at the book itself, his surprise growing to horror. The words and illustrations were gone, leaving nothing but aged paper bound by the leather around it.

"The Cooper's are in danger, and we need to save them." Bentley said firmly as he stared at his friend with a hard look, seeing Sly's shocked expression on his glasses.

TBC...

/////

A/N: Do hope you enjoyed this version of the story and my own take on it, even if it was cliche and repetitive at times. Tried to combine efforts from both the fourth game, as well as the previous ones, especially the training sequence in Sly 3. Now I'm sure there are some questions, like why give Sly actual amnesia and unsure of what was happening.

That will be explained, as well as many other things as him pretending to fake it felt pretty selfish on his part after the emotional end in 3. This whole training deal was another thing I felt was the best way to introduce his move set, as well as keep some of the game elements.

Either way, there's more to come and do hope you'll stick with me through it.