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Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood

Episode 1: Owls and Raccoons Don't Mix Very Well

Paris, Present Day

"You won't get away with this! I'll find you!"

"Au contraire Sly Cooper, I do not think we will meet again!"

As Cyrille Le Paradox leaped off his destroyed blimp with Sly Cooper's parasail, laughing all the way until he had a close encounter with a passing airplane, the blue time vortex that would've swallowed the blimp and taken it to a distant point in time suddenly turned an ominous blood red.

"What the?" Sly muttered to himself before he found himself getting sucked in with the rest of the blimp. In an attempt to escape, Sly grabbed onto a piece of debris with the hooked end of his signature cane and clung on for dear life. "What is even going on?!"

'Yep, that's me.' Sly monologued in his head. 'You're probably wondering how I ended up in this situation. Man, I always wanted to say that. But first, some introductions.'

'Call me Cooper, Sly Cooper. And I'm a thief, but not just any thief. I'm from a long, long line of thieves dating back ages, a line that I came out of retirement to save. But everything just started going wrong the moment we discovered that my friend's girlfriend sold us out to a long-time rival of my family I'm only now learning about, and he used time travel to become a better thief than my ancestors before me.' Sly began imagining the adventure he had just gone on across time to preserve his family legacy, from feudal Japan to the wild west, the ice age, medieval England, and ancient Arabia, before finally returning to the present. 'Now it seems like I'm on a one-way trip to….who knows where?! Ancient Egypt, medieval Scotland, the age of piracy, World War I, Victorian England, my dad?! There's no telling what could be on the other side of this portal, but it seems like I'm about to find out what.'

Unfortunately for this cunning, devious, Thievius Raccoonus, his attempts at saving himself from the portal were all for naught. Losing grip on his cane, Sly found himself falling back first into the hellish wormhole, with the cane joining him on this unwanted journey after whacking him in the head.

"Done in by my own cane. Can this day get any worse?" Sly groaned as he, his family's cane, and Le Paradox's blimp were completely swallowed. As Sly began losing consciousness from getting hit by his cane, a familiar voice began crying out.

"Sly, can you still hear me?!" Bentley yelled from way down below via a communicator in Sly's ear. "That vortex looks like trouble, you gotta get outta there! Sly? Sly?! SLY!" The connection was cut as the mystery wormhole closed, leaving no evidence that it was ever there.

Hours Later, ?

"Five more minutes guys." Sly groaned as he began regaining consciousness and instinctively grabbed onto his cane. "My back still hurts from getting that Master Emerald to the van, let me rest." But when Sly opened his eyes, he realized that he was on a beach, surrounded by debris from that skunk's blimp. Some parts were embedded in the sand, while others were submerged in the water nearby and seemed to be melting.

"I don't think I'm in Paris anymore." The Cooper muttered to himself before deciding to get up and propping himself on his cane.

SLY COOPER. THE WAYWARD THIEF.

"Hello, anyone?" Sly cried out for anyone that could tell him where he was. "Man, how hard did I land?" he wondered while gazing up at the sky, which was a weird mix of orange and pink, a far cry from the night skies he often blended into. He also could spot a massive bone or two far away from the shore. Suddenly, there was a low bellowing sound, and Sly turned to discover a massive creature that looked like a mix of a slug and a beached whale.

"Hey big guy, can you understand me?" Sly asked the big slug creature, who just turned its head before opening its mouth. "You saying you need something to eat?" Sly asked again. The creature gave no response. "Hm, sorry big guy. Fresh out of snacks."

"I saw the wormhole eject scrap from over there!" a voice cried out from beyond the shore. "Quickly men, gather up what we can find before the trash slug does!"

"Trash slug?" Sly scratched his chin in contemplation before turning to the beast before him. "Is that what you are?"

Before Sly could receive an answer, a small group of soldiers with grey, birdlike masks covered with white cloaks began marching onto the scene with spears in hand. Sensing that they could mean trouble, Sly took it as his cue to hide behind the trash slug while the soldiers began collecting the remnants of Le Paradox's blimp.

"Hoo, talk about a haul. Look at this junk!" one of the men said as he picked up a mechanical arm. "That mouse the Emperor took in is gonna love what we find here!"

"Mouse?" Sly whispered before he realized just who they were talking about. "Of course."

"Wait, look!" another one of the soldiers exclaimed as he pointed at the footprints Sly left in the sand. "Someone else was here."

"Gotta act fast! Now, what would Bentley say in this situation?" Sly said to himself before doing his best imitation of his paraplegic partner. "Sly, you gotta jump and press the circle button!" After letting out a quick laugh, Sly crept away into the shadows, far from those soldiers' prying eyes, and nimbly made his way over to the forest nearby.

"Phew, close one." The raccoon sighed in relief before he began to take in more of his surroundings. The trees before him seemed almost like the trees he would see back home, except the leaves were red. And it didn't seem like fall had arrived as far as Sly could tell. "Man, I wonder how everyone back home is doing. Bentley and Murray must be worried sick."

As far as Sly knew, his two oldest friends were probably back in Paris hoping for his safe return. The three of them had been together through thick and thin since they first met at the Happy Camper Orphanage. Clockwerk, Neyla, Dr. M, Le Paradox, it seemed like to Sly that they had grown from three friends into their own little family. A family that the skunk had taken him away from with seemingly no way of bringing them back together. But aside from Bentley and Murray, there was a certain fox that continued haunting his thoughts.

"Carmelita, I'm sorry for everything." Sly exhaled sadly and laid down on the grass, pondering on how faking amnesia just to live happily with his favorite Interpol officer had led to this. "I hope there's some way I can make it up to you."

"Hello, anyone there?" another voice called from within the forest, making Sly bolt from his resting place and arm himself with his cane in self-defense.

"I'm here, come out and give me all you got!" Sly challenged the voice. However, when Sly expected a beast to come out and try to eat him, instead came a girl who seemed a couple of years younger than he was with a purplish-brown pixie cut, a white & indigo hoodie, hiked-up jean shorts, a pair of dark leggings and white loafers. But the most curious feature that Sly discovered was that the girl only had hair on her head. The rest of her body was smooth, tan skin.

"Uh, hello there strange creature." Sly greeted the new creature as politely as he can. "My name is Sly Cooper. I apologize for my slow manner of speaking, I wish for you to understand what I'm saying."

"Hehehe, of course, I understand you." The girl giggled while holding a staff not unlike the Cooper cane, though it had a carving of an owl at the end. "You're a funny guy Mr. Cooper."

"Please, just call me Sly," Sly replied. "What's your name kid?"

"My name's Luz Noceda, nice to meet you." Luz introduced herself to Sly in kind.

LUZ NOCEDA. THE CREATURE.

"Your body is so smooth." Sly stated as he gently stroked Luz's arm, creeping the girl out a little. "What are you, some kind of simian?"

"I'm not sure if I should feel offended by that, but no." Luz responded. "I'm a human. You never heard of humans before?"

"I don't think so." Sly answered. "Can you tell me where I am?"

"Oh, this place?" Luz said. "Welcome to the Boiling Isles."

"The Boiling Isles. Catchy name." Sly nodded with a grin. "Look kid, Luz, was it? I seem to have lost my way home after fighting a skunk with a vendetta against my family on his burning blimp. Can you help me out?"

"You're away from home too?" Luz answered. "Small world. I got stuck here after chasing a little owl who stole my book from the trash. The only difference is, I chose to stay here so I can become a witch."

"A witch?" Sly gasped in amazement. "You mean, like, flying around on a broomstick, mixing stuff in a cauldron with an evil cackle, green-skinned kind of witch?"

"No way!" Luz laughed. "Well, at least, none of the witches I know have green skin. But I do know one who might know what you're talking about."

"You're not leading me to get eaten, are you?" Sly asked plainly.

"That depends." Luz pursed her lips in contemplation before the trees around the human and the raccoon began to rustle. "Uh oh, hide!"

"Don't worry, just take my hand and a deep breath." Sly pridefully offered his hand to Luz, but the girl instead grabbed him by the arm, pulled a slip of paper with a strange symbol drawn on it, and the two began holding their breath. Just like that, the pair had suddenly become invisible.

Sly couldn't believe his mask-covered eyes. He already recognized such a technique from one of his earliest ancestors, Slytunkhamen I, but seeing it accomplished with only a piece of paper blew his mind. However, his sense of wonder quickly turned into nausea as he struggled to keep holding his breath and not pass out. But ultimately, his lungs won the battle and Sly fell down in a heap. "Sorry kid."

"It's the human, surround her!" the leader of the guards commanded. "And get that raccoon too!"

"Probably should work on that invisibility spell a bit more." Luz commented while her new companion got back up.

"Fighting the authorities, just like on my world." Sly added and readied his cane. "Can you keep up with me?"

"Surely." Luz smirked as she whipped out more paper slips with strange symbols on them and slapped one of them on a guard's face, causing his uniform to burst into flames.

"Oh my Titan, Bill's on fire!" the captain yelled and angrily glared at Luz. "You'll pay for this, brat!"

"Hang on!" Sly yelled, charging towards the captain and slamming him into a nearby tree before dodging some spells from the captain's comrades, which he observed to be cast from circles drawn in the air. Hooking another guard by the ankle with his cane, Sly did an upside-down dive into the air before falling while spinning his cane like a propeller, knocking the squad out cold.

Luz on the other hand kept another group of guards at bay by summoning a wall of ice to trap them in, followed by another fire spell to melt the ice and a third to tangle them in vines.

"I think that should be all of them!" Luz called to Sly, and she planted her staff in the ground before making the owl on top come to life. "Hop on!"

As the staff took off, Sly spire-jumped onboard behind Luz and it flew away, leaving the guards in the dust.

"You won't get away with this! The Emperor and the Syndicate will have your heads!" the captain cursed the duo, powerless to catch up to them.

"Not bad kid, where did you learn all that magic?" Sly sighed in relief as Luz flew the staff through the forest.

"Oh it's simple, I'm a witch's apprentice." Luz proudly stated.

LUZ NOCEDA. THE WITCH'S APPRENTICE.

"An apprentice, eh?" Sly wondered. "And who, pray tell, could your master be? Is he a mystical warlock whose power is feared and respected all over this place?"

"Close, she's Eda the Owl Lady." Luz explained. Despite the human's confidence, she could tell something made Sly a little uncomfortable. "Hey, did I say something wrong?"

"You're fine sport, it's just, owls?" Sly answered. "Saying this from experience, but owls and raccoons don't mix very well."

"How so?" Luz asked her new friend.

"I'll explain when we find somewhere to land." Sly responded. "Where are we going?"

"Eda wanted me to check out that creepy portal that appeared near the beach to see if anything good came out of it." The girl explained. "And well, I sure found something great."

"Please, you're making me blush." Sly chuckled sheepishly as the staff began to slow down towards a house that had a massive window in the shape of an eye in front. "So, this must be Eda's place, eh?"

"Yep, welcome to the Owl House." Luz welcomed the thief as she walked towards the front door. To Sly's surprise, there was a little owl face hanging up on the front, and it seemed alive.

"Password ple-" the creature said before it noticed Sly. "Luz, did you bring back a new friend?! I LOVE NEW FRIENDS!"

"You never told me about that thing!" Sly jumped back at the little oddball that seemed a little too happy to meet him.

"Oh don't mind Hooty, he's pretty harmless." Luz said before she opened the door and let Sly in.

The Owl House, 6:40 pm.

"Eda, King, I'm home!" Luz called out while she and Sly stepped inside. To Sly's surprise, the house seemed to look far bigger on the inside than he expected, and also looked just as witchy as he expected it to be. "I didn't find any cool trash from that wormhole, but I did find something even better!"

"No trash?" a woman who seemed on the cusp of seniority groaned as she stepped into the room. The older woman had wild gray hair with a white streak, pale white skin, one golden eye opposite a black eye, a strange black stone on her chest, a three-toned red dress, and a golden fang sticking out of her mouth. "Dangit, that was my one chance to try and get the human stuff stand running again!"

"Well, hello silver fox." Sly purred seductively, clearly enamored with the witch. "Luz, you didn't tell me your friend was a real looker for someone so old."

"My, what a charmer." The woman chuckled playfully. "And by the way, I ain't some old codger, I'm in the prime of my life!"

"Really? But your hair." Sly pointed out the woman's unkempt locks. "You dye it or something?"

"Curse, actually." The alleged senior citizen replied before she took Sly's hand and shook it. "Eda Clawthorne, nice to meet you."

EDA CLAWTHORNE. THE OWL LADY.

"So, you must be Eda the Owl Lady." Sly realized. "Call me Sly Cooper."

"I think he may have come from another world, just like me." Luz said to her witchy teacher. "Though, I'm not sure just where he came from. I only see guys like him in cartoons, comics, and video games."

"Speaking of talking animals, what's keeping King?" Eda wondered. "Little guy's gotta do his business like everyone else does, but he's taking forever!"

Just then, a strange dog-like creature scuttled into the room. He had dark gray fur, a skull over his head, a dog collar that had some kind of symbol on the gold tag, pink & yellow eyes, and didn't seem to open his mouth despite Sly clearly hearing the little guy pant.

"Sorry everyone, that lunch really took forever to get out, if you catch my drift!" the critter chuckled at his gross joke before looking up at Sly. "Hey, who's the big guy here? Is he gonna replace me as the cute and fluffy sidekick?"

"And what are you supposed to be, squirt?" Sly asked as he picked up the animal and held him up by his sides like a cat. "Some kind of dog?"

"I am no mere dog, stranger!" the creature proudly shouted. "I AM KING, THE KING OF DEMONS!"

KING. WHAT HE SAID.

"Really, you, a king of demons?" Sly chuckled while looking at the self-proclaimed king. "You look more like a king of the dog pound."

"King, I'd like you to meet Sly Cooper." Luz introduced King to Sly. "I found him out in the woods earlier, and we fought some Coven Scouts together."

"Of course, Belos would want whatever came out of there too." Eda scoffed and rolled her eyes. "Rumor has it he's got some help, and she's looking to get control of the wormholes to find what she wants to help him."

"Who's Belos?" Sly wondered.

"We'll explain over dinner, you hungry?" Luz offered the raccoon. "I mean, we can offer you some of Eda's trash if that's okay with you."

"What, no?!" Sly nervously rejected. "I don't need any garbage, just something I can stomach. I haven't eaten since I left ancient Arabia."

"Arabia?" Eda said inquisitively. "What even are you?"

"I'm glad you asked." Sly grinned.

'Thanks to Luz here, I now had a place to stay till I can find a way home.' Sly narrated while sitting down to dinner with Luz, Eda, and King. 'She and Eda seem like nice people, but I can sense King has some issues. Well, not as many issues as I had, once I got a taste of the food on the Boiling Isles and realized just how different it is from Earth food.'

A few minutes later, Sly was in the bathroom barfing the odd dinner he just ate into the toilet while Luz gently stroked his back and Eda stood outside.

"Everyone's a critic." Eda scoffed. "I swear, the bathroom's gonna smell tomorrow morning."

'Thankfully, there was also some regular food Eda had lying around they could make into something less disgusting.' Sly continued. 'During dinner, we exchanged stories about our lives and how I could possibly find my way home.'

'Just like me, Luz is stuck here by accident and is working with Eda and the friends she made here to build a way back to the human world, as she calls it. As for Eda, she was once the most powerful witch on the Boiling Isles and a wanted criminal too. A woman after my own heart.' Luz then pulled out her smartphone and began showing Sly pictures of the adventures she went on in the Demon Realm. 'Until recently, Eda nearly drained her magic dry trying to protect Luz from harm and is trying to compensate for her lost power by learning about glyphs, which were those little papers Luz used against those Coven Scout guys.'

'King believes himself to be of royal blood and is looking for his lost father to prove himself so. Prior to this, Eda found him as a baby on some strange island where he first hatched from an egg, and the two have been living together in the Owl House ever since.' Suddenly, Hooty burst into the kitchen, eager to join in on the conversation, much to Sly's reluctance. 'Which reminds me, apparently the house itself is the body of that weird little Hooty thing. Don't wanna wrap my head around that.'

'Once we finished dinner, Eda said she knew of an artifact that this world's ruler, Emperor Belos, wants to be kept safe from prying hands.' As Eda explained the importance of that artifact, Sly put on a cheeky grin as he looked over at his cane, resting against the wall. 'Of course, by prying hands, he means a thief like yours truly.'

SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:

OWLS AND RACCOONS DON'T MIX VERY WELL

Dragging Sly out of the kitchen and towards a cauldron in the living room, Eda began stirring in the pot for a bit before an image of a necklace appeared in the liquid within. "Been a while since we last used this scrying potion, eh Luz?"

"I almost forgot we didn't throw this out." Luz replied. "So anyways Sly, this necklace can allow the wearer to contact anyone they so desire via telepathy, even if it means whoever they're calling isn't even of this universe."

"Sounds a little overpowered, don't you think?" Sly commented.

"Yeah, that's why Belos wants it in his grubby little mitts." Eda replied. "Wild witches often used this old relic to prank call people across the Isles, and some legends even said the pranks reached beyond the Demon Realm. He'll no doubt want it destroyed for its connection to wild magic."

"It's like he's asking for it to get stolen." Sly declared. "Well, what do you say ladies? Care for me to show you how I get things done?"

"From one crook to another, gladly." Eda replied.

Job: Necklace Theft

Forest Outside The Owl House, 7:05 pm.

Under the cover of night, Sly and his trio of new partners began tailing a convoy that no doubt carried the exact necklace they were looking for, heavily guarded by members of the Emperor's Coven as it trudged through the woods.

"Okay gang, that's gotta be the one we're looking for, right Eda?" Luz asked her mentor while the four hid in the bushes.

"Looks like it." Eda replied, now wearing a bandolier equipped with potions. "And it seems security is tight, so we gotta stay on our toes and not attract too much attention."

"Here's the deal everyone." Sly began making plans by drawing figures in the dirt with the end of his cane. "King, you're a little guy, try using your size and natural cuteness to distract the guards. Meanwhile, Luz, Eda, and I will turn ourselves invisible and sneak onboard. Eda, the necklace should be close to the front, right?"

"You bet Cooper." Eda declared.

"Once we get that necklace, we should be home free." Sly concluded. "Are we clear?" The witches and the demon nodded in compliance. "Good, move out."

King emerged from the bushes first, scuttling his little paws straight into the convoy's path and smashed his head against one of the wheels.

"What was that?" one of the drivers wondered as he and a few other scouts went to investigate. Behind their backs, Sly snuck aboard the convoy with Luz and Eda right behind him.

"Please, help me! I'm dying!" King dramatically yelled. "Oh, what a cruel, cruel world I live in! So long Boiling Isles, and thanks for all the snacks!"

"Oh my goodness, someone get this little guy healed up pronto!" the lead driver yelled while cradling the little demon in his arms.

"Wait, he seems a little familiar." One of the scouts said, unaware that King's near-death experience was all part of an act.

Hiding from the guards distracted by King's cry for help, Sly and the girls began creeping through the convoy in search of the necklace.

"Should be getting closer now." Luz whispered as they neared where the necklace should be. "Eda, got a way to pick the lock?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Eda beamed sneakily before sticking a hand in her hair and pulling out a bobby pin to pick the lock with. In a matter of seconds, the lock was opened and so was the door. "Jackpot!"

Before the trio stood a mystical necklace that looked like a dial on a rotary phone, studded with many radiant jewels and held together by a gold chain. Sly stared ecstatically at the trinket while he grabbed it from its resting place and left behind his signature calling card. With this, he can finally see his friends back home again. But that still leaves the question of how.

"The Pendant of Comunico is all ours." Eda said proudly while Sly returned outside with the treasure in hand. "Now let's get out of here, I'm pretty sure someone stopped buying King's act by now."

"Hey, the Owl Lady and the human are making off with the Pendant!" a Coven Scout yelled while his comrades held King hostage. "We got your little pet, either hand the necklace over or he gets it."

Unfortunately for the scout, King retaliated by biting the hand of one of the scouts holding him and scurrying away while that scout yelled in pain.

"Okay, you're asking for it!" the scout King just bit shouted and pulled out his spear, only to be met with an exploding potion to the face.

"Wow, they go down pretty easily." Sly grinned at Eda, who was ready to throw another potion.

"You'd think they'd train their forces to be more competent." Eda replied as she pulled out an ice glyph and shoved it in another guard's face, trapping his head in a block of ice before Sly broke it with his cane, sending the guard falling.

"We're on a tight schedule, so let's make this quick!" Luz replied while she wrestled with another guard with her staff. "Owlbert, grab the necklace and try to keep it away from the scouts!"

Suddenly, the owl on the end of Luz's staff turned from wood to feathers, giving Sly a shock as it glided towards him and took the necklace out of his hands. "Wait," Sly gasped. "your staff is alive!?"

"Well, A, it's my staff," Eda replied. "And B, yes it kind of is. That's my Palisman, Owlbert."

Owlbert hooted to Sly while nimbly dodging the guards that would try and take the pendant out of his talons before dropping it in Eda's hands.

"Thanks, Owlbert, now let's jet!" Eda thanked her Palisman as she stuck the pendant in her hair and Owlbert returned to Luz, who tossed the staff over to Eda. "All aboard!"

"Sorry to cut and run guys, but I got some unfinished business!" Sly called to the scouts as he and his new band of thieves flew off. "Later!"

JOB COMPLETE

The scouts were left silent at what just happened, at Luz & Eda making off with their treasure and that raccoon who was accompanying them. Then, one of them spoke.

"Okay, who wants to bite the bullet and call HQ?" one of the scouts asked. "Not it!"

"Not it!" another scout exclaimed.

"Not it!"

"Not it!" the lead driver raised his hand last, realizing too late he had to take up the burden. "Great." Pulling a compact mirror out of his uniform, he flipped it open to reveal an image of a red-skinned demon who looked like she had a hand for hair. "Hey, Kikimora. So, bad news."

"The pendant was stolen?" Kikimora grumbled.

"How did you know?" the driver exclaimed.

"That apologetic tone of voice gave it away." Kikimora declared. "What happened?"

'Well, it was the human and the Owl Lady!" the driver answered. "Plus, they had this giant furry thing with a big cane with them! I'm not even sure if it's a demon or not."

"Just as foretold, the thief is here." Kikimora proclaimed as she took the call in a dark room. "Return to the castle at once. We shall conduct a better strategy for him."

"Yes ma'am!" the driver saluted the Emperor's second in command as the call ended, leaving Kikimora alone in the room for a few moments before someone else entered.

"Well Penelope, it seems we have another guest." Kikimora said, turning to a pink-furred mouse in a yellow jumpsuit, red bandana, goggles, and a similar cloak to the Coven Scouts. "Sly Cooper, I believe his name was?"

"Exactly." Penelope clenched a glove-clad fist. "Sly will pay dearly for holding me back. I want a bounty on his head post-haste! Same for his companions."

The Owl House, 7:30 pm.

"We did it, you're so amazing Sly!" Luz cheered as soon as the team returned to Eda's house and flopped down on the couch.

"No prob Luz." Sly sighed while fishing through Eda's hair for the amulet. "You guys ain't so half bad yourselves."

"Chalk it up to years of experience on the run." Eda proclaimed. "And teaching Luz all she needs to know to survive here."

Sly then finally retrieved the Pendant of Comunico and gazed longingly at the trinket in his hands. At long last, with this, he could finally see his gang back home again. And all he had to do was just put it on.

"So, how does this thing work, exactly?" Sly wondered as he slid the necklace down his neck. "Do I just think of someone to call and they'll just take it?"

"It's a bit more complex than that, but in Layman's terms, yes." Eda answered. "So, who are you planning on calling?"

"And can I get a shot when you're done?" King asked. "I wanna see if my dad is still out there."

"I think I know just the guy." Sly declared as he crossed his legs in a meditative stance. "Or rather, turtle." As soon as the thief finished that sentence, the amulet began reacting to his thoughts and caused his eyes to glow a brilliant white. This was it, the way home at last. And all he had to do was think of Bentley.

Bentley's Lab, 3:00 am.

Far far away from the Boiling Isles, Bentley worked tirelessly in his laboratory long into the night, desperately searching for a clue on his dear friend's whereabouts. He had lost track of how many times he had reviewed the Thievius Raccoonus for any temporal alterations to its pages, but unfortunately for the disabled turtle, no dice.

"Come on Sly, give us an answer already." Bentley groaned, trying his hardest not to doze off.

BENTLEY. THE SLEEP-DEPRIVED BRAINS.

In addition to trying to search for Sly, Bentley had also been looking through the postcards sent to him by his ex-girlfriend Penelope since she had broken out of prison. However, a few months ago the cards just stopped coming. What could they have meant? Were they clues to Sly's whereabouts, or was it just her way of taunting him? Bentley gave up on that as soon as the postcards stopped coming.

Just then, the door to his lab opened, and in came the Cooper Gang's favorite rival Inspector Carmelita Fox. "Anything yet Bentley?"

CARMELITA FOX. THE COP IN LOVE.

"Zilch." Bentley answered morosely. "It's been months since we last saw Sly, but I keep thinking it's been like, years or something! Maybe I'm just so sleep-deprived, my sense of time is slipping." One cup of coffee later, Bentley kept on working until a thought crossed his mind. "Hey, here's a thought I just came up with. What if Sly, maybe, died or something?"

"You can't be serious." Carmelita said crossly with a facepalm. "Ringtail may really love getting on my nerves, but I seriously don't think he'd be the type to sacrifice himself without telling us that's what he'll do."

"Aw, so nice to hear you miss me too, Ol' Iron Sides." Sly's voice echoed through the lab, making Carmelita jump where she stood and Bentley fall off his wheelchair in shock.

"Did you just hear that, or am I hallucinating from a crippling lack of sleep?" Bentley asked while being helped back into his chair.

"No, I believe I heard it too." Carmelita answered, just as alarmed at what just happened. "Dios mío, could it be?"

"You betcha, Carms." What seemed to be Sly Cooper declared as a projection of him appeared before his sidekick and his girlfriend. "Hey guys, long time no see."

"Sly, can it really be you?" Bentley stretched a mechanical arm out from his chair to try and touch Sly, but unfortunately, the arm seemed to go right through the master thief. "So I am hallucinating!"

"Well, not really, but it's a bit more complex than that." Sly declared with a shrug. "I can see you've been searching for me for a while, but as it turns out, I'm not in another time. I think I'm in another dimension!"

"Wait, dimension?!" Bentley exclaimed. "You mean you just discovered a multiverse or something?!"

"Well, I think, though ball's in the park on whether I'm actually stuck in Hell," Sly responded. "Given how many demons there are here. I'm in this place full of monsters and magic called the Boiling Isles, and some of the locals helped me find this talisman that allowed me to contact you back on my world. They're pretty stand-up people, and one of them even got lost here just like me."

"Can you give us an idea on how we can reach you Sly?" Carmelita asked.

"To be real, I'm not sure." Sly explained to his law-abiding crush. "Maybe, I don't know, build a portal or something? There are parts of Le Paradox's blimp that went with me to the Isles, and thankfully there's some still leftover that either didn't get melted by the literally scorching hot seas or taken by the local authorities."

"We'll see what we can do Sly." Bentley stated with his hope renewed. "Try not to get yourself in trouble by the time we get there."

"You underestimate him for an old friend, Bentley." Carmelita smirked at the turtle before she gave the projection of Sly a loving gaze. "We'll be there soon Sly, and when we're all together again," Her hopeful tone was quickly dropped in favor of the officer's aggressiveness. "I'LL HAVE SOME CHOICE WORDS FOR YOU AFTER YOU HAD US ALL WORRIED SICK!"

"Easy, Inspector!" Bentley tried to calm the Interpol cop down while Sly recoiled in fright.

"Y'all haven't changed a bit." Sly grinned softly before he suddenly disappeared, leaving the pair alone in the lab once again.

"Well, guess it's time for me to make a few calls." Bentley cracked his knuckles and picked up a nearby phone, hoping to give a certain third member of the Cooper Gang the good news.

"You reached The Murray! Sorry I can't come to the phone right now, but I won't mind if you left a message!" Murray's voicemail stated.

"Hello, Murray? It's me, Bentley." Bentley spoke into the phone. "We finally found him."

Chapter Text

Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood

Episode 2: A Portal Too Far

The Owl House, 8:00am

The next morning, Sly slowly opened his eyes in the closet Luz had made her room during her stay in the Boiling Isles. However, what he saw upon waking up wasn't a pretty sight.

"GOOD MORNING!" Hooty yelled cheerfully, causing Sly to scream and punch him in the face. "Ouch, I was only trying to be a good host and wish you good morning." The house demon groaned in pain. "Sheesh! Hoot!"

"Well, next time, please give me a warning." Sly said while stepping out of the closet and following the scent of breakfast coming from downstairs. "Wonder what Eda's cooking now?"

When Sly entered the kitchen, he found King scarfing down breakfast, and Eda in her pajamas reading the newspaper while drinking a red substance out of a mug saying "30 and Flirty" before she looked up at the thief. "Morning, ringtail!" the old witch grinned. "Heard you had a run-in with Hooty."

"Yeah, he was pretty loud." Sly remarked while sitting down from Eda at the table. "I think he means well, but would it kill him to be less freaky?" Just then, Sly realized that someone was missing. "Where's Luz? She wasn't with me when I woke up."

"Oh, she's just getting ready for school." King answered in the middle of devouring the most important meal of the day.

"Wait, school?" Sly wondered before coming to a realization. "Wait, don't tell me, there's a magic school here, right?"

"There's three, actually." Eda said, lowering the paper and raising three of her fingers for emphasis. "Luz goes to Hexside, just like me when I was her age. I mean, she was banned the first time she went there but still wanted to attend anyways."

"But she's supposed to be your apprentice, right?" Sly wondered. "What's the point of that if she decides to go to magic school?"

"Hey, it's her decision. I ain't gonna stop her." Eda replied and got back to the paper while a series of footsteps entered the room. "Oh, speak of the devil."

"Morning, Sly!" Luz greeted the raccoon. She was now wearing a tunic with very colorful sleeves and legs, which Sly assumed to be her school uniform. "Sorry I can't help you build your portal to your friends today. I got school today. But I promise to be there when you finish!"

"Hey, don't sweat it, kid." Sly grinned while ruffling the human's hair. "You go learn your magic and whatever."

"Hey, check this gang. We made the front page!" Eda exclaimed, turning the newspaper for Luz and Sly to read the headlines. "FURRY THIEF ALLIES WITH OWL LADY AND HUMAN APPRENTICE" it read.

"Hey, why isn't it mentioning me?!" King cried, infuriated at the seeming lack of acknowledgment towards his part in the theft of the Pendant of Comunico. "I was just as important!"

"You're still important to us, little guy." Luz cooed to the little demon, scratching him under his chin and giving him a kiss on his skull as a goodbye. "See you all later!"

"Have fun!" Eda called back as Luz left for Hexside and turned back to Sly. "Well, Cooper, it's just you, me, and King today. Ready to build that portal?"

"I thought you'd never ask!" Sly grinned eagerly. "But before we go, what's that you're drinking?"

"Apple blood." Eda answered before presenting the mug. "Want some?"

"Don't you mean apple juice, or cider?" Sly asked.

"Hehe, that's exactly what Luz said her first morning here." Eda chuckled nostalgically.

Paris, 9:00 pm

'So, as it turns out, Sly was never stuck in a different time period.' Bentley narrated while writing down a variety of equations on a whiteboard. 'I had to study a ton of theoretical physics to comprehend his current situation. I mean, the multiverse was real, and we were just looking in the wrong part of reality!'

Just then, the door was punched off its hinges by a massive pink fist, and Murray excitedly burst into the room, hoping that Sly was there. 'The moment Murray received my message, he got there as fast as possible.' As Murray gave his old friend a tight hug, another member of the Cooper Gang strutted into the room. It was Dimitri Lousteau, disco-loving member of the Klaww Gang turned disco-loving frogman of the Cooper Gang. 'He told the rest of the gang the good news, but only Dimitri was able to come. Last I heard, the Guru and his latest student were on the run after the student got into some legal troubles, and the Panda King was getting ready for his daughter's wedding.'

Bentley explained everything to Murray and Dimitri as best as he could, and while Murray was dismayed that Sly didn't actually return, he was still eager that they could get their leader back. 'However, in order to find these so-called Boiling Isles, we need to rig up a dimensional transporter of our own to locate it.' Bentley continued narrating. 'A few contacts keep telling me that deep within Area 51, the US government has kept a wormhole machine under lock and key. If we can merge that with the van like we did with the time machine, the gang will be back together for sure! But we might need a little help getting there.'

The three thieves turned to Carmelita, waiting in a dark corner of the hideout. 'Carmelita may be reluctant to be joining forces with us again, but I can see that she's got no other option.' Bentley nodded hopefully to Carmelita, who replied with a shaky thumbs-up. 'Hang on, Sly, we're coming for you!'

SLY COOPER AND BENTLEY IN:

A PORTAL TOO FAR

Job: Blimp Parts Retrieval

Boiling Isles Beach, 8:15 am

Emerging from the forest, Sly and Eda gazed upon the beach where Sly first awakened in the Demon Realm. To their delight, there were still a few parts of Le Paradox's blimp that the Emperor's Coven didn't take for their own purposes. Enough for them to use for their portal.

"Good, they didn't take anything important." Eda greedily rubbed her hands together. "Come to mama!"

"This seems like easy pickings." Sly added. "Hey, where did King go? I could've sworn I saw him leave the house with us."

"Here I am!" King exclaimed as he burst out of Eda's massive hair. "Bet you didn't see that coming!"

"No, I didn't." Sly answered. "How are you able to do that?"

"It's a family thing." Eda replied as the duo walked down to the shore to collect the blimp parts. "Speaking of which, you said you're from a family of thieves, right?"

"Yep, going back ages! To the Ice Age even!" Sly proudly proclaimed. "In fact, my first big adventure was when me, Bentley, and Murray traveled across the world to reassemble my family's most prized possession, the Thievius Raccoonus, after its pages were taken by a band of criminals who killed my parents. Their leader was a psychotic robot owl who ran on pure, unadulterated hatred."

"Owls, huh?" Eda said before putting a hand on Sly's shoulder. "So that's why you were so weirded out by me. Well, rest assured, Sly, I ain't ever gonna be like that guy!"

"Thanks, Eda." Sly smiled. "Now, let's get to work."

When Sly and Eda's feet stepped onto the sand, King emerged from Eda's hair to help the pair gather up blimp parts. "I want to help too! Just give me something to carry, and I'll do it!"

Sly and Eda just exchanged a look before Sly decided to be honest with King. "I know you're an eager little guy, but most of this junk seems too heavy for someone your size." He said. "Why not try something smaller?"

"I am far stronger than you think, Sly!" King bickered with Sly. "Just watch!" As a demonstration of his alleged strength, King tried lifting a massive hunk of machinery from what Sly believed to be from the engineering deck of the blimp, but all that did was make him scream in pain from overexertion.

"Okay, little guy, take it easy." Eda prevented her adopted demon son from getting himself hurt by picking him up and sticking him back on the ground. "Don't want to rip your arms off."

"Fine, but I still want to prove myself somehow." King groaned in defeat when Sly handed him his cane. "Are you passing down your cane to me?"

"If you want to show how cool you are, go ahead." Sly offered. "Give it a whirl."

"I shall wield this with honor!" King declared, taking the cane and holding it aloft. "I HAVE THE POWER!" With that, the self-proclaimed king of demons went to town on some piles of scrap that started sprouting coins for some reason.

"Kids can be so dang cute." Eda chuckled and wiped a tear from her eye.

"King's got a real fire in him." Sly agreed with the witch. "Kinda reminds me of a few people I know." But he had enough of being nostalgic; there was work to do. "So, back to the portal?"

"Back to the portal." Eda declared, and the two returned to work. As the day moved on, the pair found themselves getting a lot of progress done. Even King eventually decided to pull his weight once he felt satisfied with the power Sly's cane gave him.

"Well, that should be all of them." Sly declared once they gathered up what parts of the blimp they could find on the beach. "Would be really nice to have Bentley around to help us. And by help, I mean do most of the work since he's the tech guy."

"Bentley's the guy with the shell, right?" King asked.

"You know, I'm something of a machinist myself." Eda stated. "Whenever someone else takes Owlbert for a spin, I souped up an old bathtub to take me where I want to go."

"Wow, never took you for an inventor Eda." Sly nodded in wonder. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get this portal going!"

JOB COMPLETE

Sly and Eda high-five before taking the parts away. In the distance, however, a spy in a golden mask lurked from above before flying away.

Job: Raiding Area 51

Area 51, 2:00 am

"Breaker Alpha Foxtrot, this is the Wizard." Bentley announced over the Binocucom. "Do you read me, Spitfire?"

With a heavy sigh, Carmelita obliged despite the annoying nickname. "Yes, this is Spitfire. Over."

"What, not a fan of the codename?" Bentley asked.

"No." Carmelita simply answered. "Because one, that would imply I've fully fallen in with you guys. And two, are these really necessary?"

"Okay, maybe not." Bentley said. "Okay, Carm, your role here is to provide the guards with a distraction while Dimitri and Murray break in. Got it?"

"Understood." Carmelita nodded before she put the communicator away and walked up to a pair of guards at Area 51. "Stand aside, boys. Official Interpol business, I think you need to leave your posts."

"Interpol? Where's the government clearance?" the guard on Carmelita's left asked.

"What, didn't you get the memo earlier?" Carmelita asked sarcastically. "Ay, you should really check your messages more often."

"You sure you're here on official business?" the guard on the right wondered. "Why aren't there any other officers with you?"

"Solo operation tonight." Carmelita answered, gazing up at the sky to see the flying Cooper Van above the compound. "Now then, would you be willing to answer a few questions regarding some confidential information?"

"Well, if you say so." The left guard agreed. "Come on, Alex."

"I still don't buy this, Matt." The right guard remarked suspiciously while Carmelita led the two away. Just then, the Cooper Gang's van landed gently next to a nearby hanger, allowing its passengers to safely disembark.

"Okay, dudes, you ready for this?" Dimitri asked while stepping out of the back of the vehicle.

DIMITRI LOUSTEAU. THE GREASY SWEET FROGMAN.

"The Murray is always ready!" Murray boomed as he followed behind.

THE MURRAY. THE MUSCLES.

"Good to know we're on the same page." Bentley said before tossing his binocucom to Dimitri. "Dimitri, you'll be covering reconnaissance so we can find a safe way inside the portal device's location."

"Got it, Bent." Dimitri saluted before he sped off into the distance, bent over with arms at his sides.

"Hey, you think we could see some aliens here?" Murray asked Bentley eagerly. "And maybe even bring one home with us?"

"I wouldn't get your hopes up, Murray, no offense." Bentley replied. "As amazing as it would be to encounter extraterrestrial life here, we still have a mission to perform. And hey, whatever these Boiling Isles are, there could be tons of otherworldly lifeforms for you to meet."

As for Dimitri, he crawled around high and low for any possible entryways to their destination, taking pictures along the way and a couple selfies to boot. As eager as the lizard was to watch over the Thievius Raccoonus during the gang's last adventure, he'd prefer to go out into the field alongside them to show his stuff, and he jumped at the opportunity once Murray told him about Bentley's findings.

When Dimitri felt satisfied with the pictures he took, they were immediately sent over to Bentley. "Good job Dimitri. I think we have a pretty clear picture of where to go from here." Bentley thanked the frogman until he came across the selfies. "But reminder for next time, please save the selfies for later."

"What? I couldn't help myself!" Dimitri exclaimed defensively.

"Now, all that's left is to shut down the security systems." Bentley declared. "I don't think those two guards will buy Carmelita's act for long." With that said, he pulled out a monitor, plugged it into the power grid, and got to work on hacking. His macho avatar shot down every protective measure the military could throw at it, but Bentley powered through no matter the obstacle until finally, the hack was complete and the lights shut off. "All clear. It's go time."

As the trio entered the warehouse, they noticed that it seemed completely empty. However, from years of experience, Bentley knew that this was only a set-up to hide something bigger. "Hm, there must be a secret entrance here somewhere." He stroked his chin in contemplation before whipping out some bombs using the mechanical arms on his wheelchair. "Boys, stand back!" Throwing a bomb at the floor, the trio hurried away as the device exploded. However, there was nothing there. "Talk about well-hidden."

"Why don't I give it a shot?" Murray suggested before he walked around the warehouse, stomping his foot on the ground every so often to check for anything that would indicate a hidden passageway. It wasn't until he tapped on something that sounded rather hollow that he believed he found an answer. "JACKPOT!" he cried triumphantly and prepared his signature Thunder Flop on the open spot. In his wake, the hippo left a hole in the ground that led to a flight of stairs he accidentally tumbled down. "WOAH!"

"You okay big guy?!" Dimitri called out for Murray.

"The Murray's alright!" Murray bellowed in response. "And he found some stairs! Not sure where they lead, though."

"Excellent, now hang tight, Murray!" Bentley hollered before he and Dimitri walked down the long flight of stairs. Murray was lying flat on his stomach at the bottom, and close by was a padlocked door reading 'HIGHLY CONFIDENTIAL: DO NOT OPEN AT ALL. THAT MEANS YOU. WE MEAN IT.'

"Bingo." Dimitri purred at the door before looking down at the keypad. "Let me guess, we gotta enter some code to get in?"

"Exactly, but it's so secret that not even the top brass of Area 51 can remember it," Bentley stated. "Only a select few have learned the code and lived to tell the tale, which shall soon include us."

"Awesome! So what's the code?" Murray asked excitedly.

"12345." Bentley stated, reading off a tablet while Murray and Dimitri just stared blankly at him.

"What kinda dumb code is that?!" Dimitri shouted in disappointment. "You mean to tell me that 12345 is so secret that not even the big boys remember it?! That's the same kind of code some moron would put on his luggage!"

"I am just as disappointed as you are, Dimitri." Bentley replied before entering the code and opening the door. Right before the three men stood secrets that the US must've kept hidden for untold years, ranging from strange lifeforms to tools they refused to let fall into the wrong hands.

"Check it out, guys; there really is an alien here!" Murray pointed out a little green man reading the newspaper. "And he's reading the funny pages too!"

"Do you mind?" the alien asked Murray before returning to his reading.

"So, where do you suppose this portal doohickey is supposed to be?" Dimitri asked Bentley while the pair moved further down the hall, encountering cryptids, mystic objects, strange fossils, and other curios hidden from the public eye.

"If my contacts are correct, the portal device should be at the end of the hall." Bentley stated. "We have to be careful, though. Out of all the oddities kept here, this is quite possibly the most heavily guarded for how it could change our very perception of life, the universe, and everything!"

"And we're just going to snatch it right under their noses for our own purposes?" Dimitri grinned mischievously.

"Oh maliciously!" Bentley replied before turning back to Murray. "Come on, Murray, you can obsess over these oddities later."

"Fine, I'm coming." Murray groaned disappointedly. "I gotta go, Paul, but I'll make sure to write!"

"Please leave me alone." Murray's new martian friend ordered the hippo before turning back to his papers.

As soon as Murray joined the pair, Bentley carefully opened an ominous door at the end of the hall, and before them stood an ever-shifting cube-like device emitting a white glow. However, despite Bentley's cautions, there seemed to be no security system in place. This provided a perfect opportunity for the Cooper Gang to break in and out of the facility.

"It's like they wanted us to grab that!" Dimitri boasted as he confidently strode towards the device. "Allow me, bros." Standing before the glass case holding the cube, Dimitri stroked his purple chin thoughtfully before he thought of a way to replace it by pulling out some fashion magazines with himself on the cover and quickly switching the two's places. "See, easy peasy!"

Suddenly, the alarms started going off, and the room began flashing a bright, eye-straining red. "Motion sensors, I should've known!" Bentley declared. "What do you say, back to the van?"

"Way ahead of you!" Murray yelled as he took off running, while Bentley and Dimitri followed him just as quickly.

"Motion sensors detected intruders in the secret hallway!" one of the Area 51 guards yelled at Alex and Matt while they were still being interrogated by Carmelita. "Let's get a move on!"

"About time." Carmelita muttered under her breath, knowing that the boys succeeded in their heist. "Allow me to take the lead, sir."

"Very well, inspector." The guard agreed and let the Interpol officer lead them to the central area of the compound.

"We need to move quickly; the guards are likely after us!" Bentley cried as he, Murray, and Dimitri exited the warehouse to be greeted by Area 51's full security force. "Me and my big mouth!"

"Freeze criminals, hands in the air!" Carmelita commanded with a point of her shock pistol. "You got a lot of nerve trying to steal confidential American technology!"

Bentley gave no response other than a wink, letting the officer know she was only acting to avoid suspicion. Carmelita quietly sighed and reluctantly winked back, much to Alex's confusion. "Uh, who are you winking at?"

"No one in particular." Carmelita fibbed. "Now then, hand over your loot, and we can let this slide."

"You mean this?" Murray boomed, pulling out the cube they had just robbed. "If you want it, you have to get through the Murray first!"

"Get the hippo; he looks dangerous!" one of the Area 51 guards commanded the rest to surround Murray, causing an all-out brawl against the hippopotamus. However, Murray quickly tossed the cube over to Carmelita before the fight broke out.

"Quick, one of you, get the cube to the van!" Murray cried. "I'll take things from here!"

"Gracias Murray." Carmelita thanked Murray before she realized that someone was watching her.

"Hey, you're gonna put that back, ri-" a nearby guard began before he got a face full of shock pistol, knocking him out cold.

"If Interpol finds out about this, I'm ruined." Carmelita facepalmed in disgust over what she had just done.

"Don't worry, I found ways to cover up for you." Bentley assured the inspector. "Now, let's get this to the van! We haven't got a moment to lose!"

As Murray continued brawling his way through the guards, Bentley, Carmelita, and Dimitri raced back to the hangar where the van remained. Although the cube has been acquired, there didn't seem to be a way for it to be used for the vehicle to travel dimensions.

"So, where do we put this thingy?" Carmelita asked as she popped open the hood of the van. Suddenly, however, the cube began vibrating excitedly and clung onto the engine like it had a mind of its own. "Okay, that works."

"Climb aboard everyone, next stop: Sly Cooper!" Bentley declared as he took the van's driver's seat and kicked it into gear. Soaring into the air, the back door opened so that Murray could jump up and get in.

"No, do you realize what you have done?!" Matt shrieked in terror. "What you shall discover beyond our conceivable universe, you will soon regret!"

"That's a sacrifice we're willing to make, bro," Dimitri stated. "PUNCH IT, BENTLEY!"

With that, Bentley worked the stick shift to make the van go even faster in the air. He made it go so fast that everything around them began to vibrate until the getaway vehicle suddenly disappeared.

JOB COMPLETE

The soldiers were left stunned as the van seemingly vanished into thin air.

The Multiverse, Time Unknown

"WHOOOOAAAA! THIS IS AWESOME!" Murray cheered as the Cooper Gang exited their reality and began tumbling through the multiverse, where realities far different from theirs stretched out quite possibly for infinity.

Turning his head to look out the windows, Bentley witnessed a few of these parallel universes. To his left were universes containing a strange cat-like creature and a robot fighting a mad scientist, a long-eared humanoid man carrying some heavy machinery and a big-mouthed otter thing giving snarky commentary, a bandicoot doing a goofy dance, a purple-scaled dragon turning sheep into butterflies by breathing fire on them, a man dangling from the open cargo hold of an airplane, and a young woman manipulating gravity with help from a cat.

And to Bentley's right, he saw gargoyle statues coming to life, a group of ducks going on wild treasure hunts not unlike the Cooper Gang, two boys building a rollercoaster, a pair of children fleeing on a golf cart from a giant of unimaginable horror, a teenage girl with a magic wand, a red-scaled dragon flying through New York City, a red-haired young woman working as a spy, a pink frog and his human friend, and a strange orange-furred creature riding a blue horse-like alien.

"So this is the multiverse?! Ballin'!" Dimitri whooped in amazement at the sights before him.

"But do any of them have Sly in them?" Carmelita asked the turtle at the wheel.

"I'm not sure!" Bentley shouted. "We need a sign!"

The Owl House, 3:00 pm

At long last, Sly and Eda had finally finished work on the portal that would surely help the raccoon get home. It looked in pretty poor shape, but that was good enough for them.

"I'm nowhere near the machinist Bentley will ever be, but I'll take what I can get." Sly took off his mask to wipe his brow as he turned around to see Luz coming home from school. "Hey Luz, how was school today?"

"It was good." Luz responded when she discovered the portal. "Whoa, nice work, you guys."

"How's Boots doing?" Eda asked.

"Boots?" Sly raised an eyebrow at Eda's question.

"She means Amity, my awesome girlfriend." Luz beamed happily.

"Wait, girlfriend?" Sly said before his confusion gave way to pride. "Hey, nice work gettin' lucky there, kiddo!" He gave the human a high five in celebration. "Did you, uh, tell anyone about me?"

"I might've only told two of my friends, Willow and Gus." Luz replied. "I'm not sure if we're ready to introduce you to everyone else yet."

"Hey, speaking of introductions," Eda stated. "why don't we take that portal for a spin and introduce us to your friends?"

"I thought you'd never ask." Sly grinned excitedly before he leaped over to the lever and pulled it. After releasing an energy vortex resembling a surge of water that could be seen for miles, the portal began shining a brilliant blue color and presenting an unknown silhouette that seemed to be fast approaching.

"There it is, guys!" Bentley yelled as he pointed at the opening that Sly had just created. "Hang on tight; we're in for a rough landing!"

"How rough?!" Carmelita roared before Bentley began steering the van towards the portal.

"What even is that thing?" Eda asked regarding the shadow that seemed to be rapidly approaching the other side of the portal. "Did we do something wrong?"

"No, I'd recognize that shape from anywhere." Sly responded. Just then, the Cooper Gang's van rocketed out of the portal, hitting Eda and breaking her body into pieces before it crashed into a nearby tree.

"That rough." Bentley answered Carmelita's earlier question as he emerged from the van, only to discover Eda's arm dangling out the window with a middle finger missing. "See, we even accidentally killed someone."

"Sly, are those your friends?" Luz asked Sly as he gazed longingly at his long-estranged friends.

"Wouldn't trade them for any world." Sly gasped in surprise while the rest of his team disembarked, with a certain fox being the first to lock eyes with him.

"Sly?" Carmelita gasped at her favorite thief, now in the flesh. "Can it be?"

"You were right, Bentley; he's really here!" Murray exclaimed cheerfully. "He's actually here!"

"Ain't you a sight for sore eyes, eh cracker box?" Dimitri chuckled.

"And who's your friend here?" Carmelita asked, bending over to meet Luz.

"Hola, I'm Luz Noceda." Luz introduced herself to the fox. "Nice to meet you."

"Uh, hey guys, hate to ruin the mood," Eda said, her voice muffled under Murray's foot. "But can one of you put me back together? I sometimes hear people asking me to sit on their faces, but I've never had someone stand on mine!"

"We'd also like you to meet Eda." Sly nervously chuckled.

Moving his foot, Murray picked up the disembodied head he was just standing on, looking at its dead expression nervously before it started speaking. "What, no apologies for nearly making me roadkill?!" This caused the Cooper Gang to begin screaming in terror. "What, you acting like you never saw a talking head before?!"

"WHAT IS THIS THING?!" Murray shrieked like a little girl before he dropped the head and hid behind Bentley.

"I ain't a thing, big boy!" Eda yelled. "Now, can someone find the rest of my body? Feeling a little naked right now, and not in a sexy way."

"And you are certain that the Owl Lady is in league with this thief that made off with the Pendant?" a masked man sitting atop a throne below a massive, beating heart asked the golden-masked spy from earlier.

"Yes, uncle." The spy nodded. "They seem to have been building a portal of some kind. Though, it didn't seem like another door to the human world."

"Fascinating." The man stroked the pointed bottom part of his mask. "Let's leave that sly raccoon to his fun for now. But in the meantime, I must make a little check-up on Penelope."

Using the power to see everything that happens in his castle, the masked man peered into a laboratory where Penelope was overseeing the construction of a metallic owl body, along with some blueprints comparing its size to Eda's.

Chapter Text

Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood

Chapter 3: Clawthorne and Order

The Owl House, 3:00pm

'So, at long last, Sly and his friends are finally back together.' Luz began narrating as her new thief friend from another dimension was reintroduced to his old crew. Immediately after being introduced to Luz, Carmelita was just about ready to have a colossal tantrum at Sly for having them all worried sick for so long. But instead, she broke down in tears of relief that he was okay and collapsed in his arms. 'Let me introduce you to some of them. His girlfriend Carmelita's a cop, so I'm pretty sure she and Eda won't get along very well.'

Meanwhile, Bentley was working to rebuild Eda's body with the help of her head, and Murray was awestruck over King's adorableness. 'Bentley over there is super-smart. And by super-smart, I mean smart enough to build a time machine! Which reminds me, I should also ask if time travel magic is possible sometime. As for Murray, he's the kind of guy with a big heart to match those big muscles. Definitely someone you'd want to have on your side, whether you're a thief or not. And then there's Dimitri.'

As Sly helped his hysterical lover dry her tears, Luz turned to see Dimitri trying to make his move on Eda's decapitated head. 'From what I've been told, this weirdo was once another criminal who was against the Cooper Gang in the past, but then circumstances relating to his family forced Dimitri to join the team on one of their adventures, and he's been pretty useful to them ever since.'

"Well, Eda, here's your body back." Bentley announced while presenting the Owl Lady's restored body. "Apologies if I got some parts backwards. I'm sure you can fix them yourself."

"Thanks for the lift, geek." Eda chuckled before her head began hopping towards her body. "Now can one of you be a pal and help me up?"

"One second, just giving this little cutie pie some belly rubs." Murray answered, continuing to coo at King. "Who's a good little boy? It's you, it's you!"

"Put me down, you pink behemoth!" King yelled while trying to wriggle free from the hippo's embrace. "I am not just a good little boy; I am heir to the throne of all demon-" King was quickly cut off when Murray started blowing raspberries on his furry belly. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, MAKE IT STOP! MAKE IT STOP! I CAN'T TAKE IT, I JUST CAN'T! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"So, you feeling like getting a little wicked, witchy-poo?" Dimitri continued to come onto Eda.

"My my, someone's a real charmer." Eda chuckled seductively. "Guess I have that much of an effect on animal people."

"If we're done trying to be ladies' men, we have bigger questions to ask." Bentley stated. "Like, how is it even possible that you were able to cross dimensions? And what happened that caused it to interfere with Le Paradox's tech?"

"I'm not even sure what happened either." Sly replied nervously. "But I'm sure we can find more answers once we get inside. Speaking of which, come on in."

"Ooh, more new friends!" Hooty hollered excitedly, much to the Cooper Gang's disgust.

"What is that freaky door knocker?" Carmelita gagged.

"Oh yeah, this is Hooty." Sly introduced the house demon to his team before opening the front door for everyone. "He's basically the Owl House itself."

"I'll try to wrap my head around that later." Bentley muttered as he rolled his wheelchair into the house.

A few minutes later, once the Cooper Gang had gotten themselves settled in, Sly and Luz decided that it was time for some explanation on the current situation. The pair sat across from their friends, who were all on Eda's couch, as they began speaking.

"So, Cooper Gang, I'd like to welcome you all to the Boiling Isles." Luz began. "This is a wonderful, and extremely deadly, place filled with magic and monsters of all kinds. I got stuck here after stepping through a door that Eda used to collect stuff from my world to sell at the market, and one rollicking adventure that involved a prison break later, I decided to stick around so I could become a witch apprentice."

"So what you're saying is you managed to cross dimensions?" Bentley wondered. "I've been studying up on theoretical physics after learning Sly was stuck here, including the multiverse theory."

"The multiverse what now?" Eda asked the wheelchair-bound reptile.

"Allow me to explain." Bentley continued as he pulled up his Chalk Talk app to demonstrate what he was saying. "So, to put it lightly, the multiverse theory posits that there are an infinite number of Earths beyond our own. For example, there's the Earth Sly comes from, the Earth that Luz calls home, and the Boiling Isles is in-between them." Bentley drew up pictures of Sly, Luz, their worlds, and the Boiling Isles as an example. "After that, the possibilities are endless! There could be an Earth where JFK was never assassinated or where the Nazis won World War II!"

"Or maybe one where we're all in high school together!" Luz excitedly added. "Or maybe we're coffee shop employees, magical girls, soulmates, prisoners, cowboys-"

"Luz." Bentley scolded the human girl for interrupting his presentation.

"Sorry about that." Luz blushed nervously. "I read a lot of fanfiction."

"Such a little cutie." Carmelita chuckled at the apprentice. "Which reminds me, if either of you is a bad influence on her, I will make sure you will be paid in kind." She added, trapping Luz in a protective headlock and threatening Sly & Eda with her shock pistol. "Understand?!"

"We'll try Carms. Just put the pistol down." Sly laughed awkwardly.

"You remind me of a sister of mine." Eda commented, comparing the fox's adherence to rules and her temper to someone else. "Even got the same hair color too."

"Oh yeah, that reminds me!" Hooty suddenly butted in and hacked up an envelope with 'Hootsifer' written on it that fell into Sly's lap. "I got another letter from Lulu!"

"Who's Lulu?" Murray asked while trying not to barf at picking up the saliva-covered letter. "Is she your girlfriend?"

"Not really." Hooty replied. "She's just the bestest friend a demon like me could ever have! She understood me when no one else could!"

"He's talking about my sister Lilith." Eda reiterated for the goofy house demon. "For some odd reason, she and Hooty became pretty close in her time here."

"So, anyone wanna read the letter?" Sly asked. "I don't think I want to know what part of Hooty's body he's been keeping it in."

"I'll do it!" Dimitri accepted the offer and took the envelope, shaking some of the spit off before opening it and reading the letter inside. "Dearest Hootsifer," he began in a thick British accent, only to switch back to his regular voice mere seconds later. "Does she have an accent?"

"No, but keep going." King chuckled. "Now I can't stop imagining Lilith with an accent."

"If you say so." Dimitri chuckled back before he got back to reading with the accent. "Dearest Hootsifer, I'm so glad you responded so soon. Thanks for all the updates too; I wish Luz and Edalyn well in helping Luz return to the Human Realm. However, I am sending this letter because I have some dire news to give to you and everyone back at the Owl House. I've been hearing rumblings across town that a criminal syndicate of wild witches has joined forces with Belos. They call themselves the Wild Witch Syndicate, a collection of nine of the most feared criminals in all the Boiling Isles, each themed around one of the nine Covens. I have no idea what they and the Emperor have planned, but I fear all of you might be in danger. Please try to keep your heads low. Sincerely, Lulu."

"A syndicate?" Luz wondered while Dimitri threw the letter away. "Hey, I think I remember one of those Coven guards saying something about one when I first met Sly!"

"Ugh, those creeps." Eda groaned in disgust, causing everyone to look at her. "In case you're wondering, I've had a few run-ins with the Wild Witch Syndicate myself in the past. They always tried recruiting me with the promise that they had a way to heal this curse I've had for most of my life, but I always guessed they were full of bull."

"Wait, a curse?" Carmelita asked with a tilt of her head.

"Observe." Eda replied, and with a snap of her fingers, she assumed a much more monstrous form with black & yellow eyes, massive grey wings, her dress now fused to her body, brown-feathered arms with yellow claws, and light-grey taloned legs.

"You sure this is a curse? You look awesome!" Murray exclaimed excitedly.

"I don't know about you guys, but I got some very mixed emotions right now." Dimitri added, slightly quivering in fear of the beast before them.

"Yeah, this is only kind of a curse now." Eda replied, her voice now becoming more echoey. "I'll explain on the way, but in the meantime, ROAD TRIP! WHAT WHAT!"

"Yay, we're going to see Lulu!" Hooty cheered. "I'll go get ready!"

"Y'know, Hooty, we can totally leave you behind if that's-" Luz tried to speak before the group was greeted to a sight so horrifying that they preferred to never speak of it at all. There then was a strange organ-filled hole in the door where Hooty should've been, while Hooty himself sat below them in a birdhouse-shaped backpack.

"Pretty cool, huh, guys?" Hooty asked the gang, who were too mortified and disgusted to respond.

"What did I just watch?" Sly asked, utterly traumatized at what he had witnessed.

"What has been seen cannot be unseen." Bentley added, now on the verge of puking while his wheelchair pulled out a bucket to barf in.

"Get used to it, guys." King declared. "This is gonna be a long trip."

"Hey, I can take some of you on my staff if you want." Eda suggested while reverting to her normal form.

"Neat idea." Sly agreed before turning to Carmelita. "Maybe we could have a little romantic afternoon flight?"

"Hehe, you charmer." Carmelita blushed at the idea.

"Yeah, I think that reminds me." Bentley declared as he took the gang outside and examined the van's engine. "I think we have just enough power to last us our entire stay in the Boiling Isles. Otherwise, the dimensional transporter we've attached to the engine might've caused it to start malfunctioning."

"So, in other words, we gotta watch ourselves or else we'll be tumbling through time and space again?" Murray asked while he sat down in the driver's seat. "Don't worry you guys; I'll try not to shift into maximum overdrive."

"We'll be watching you!" Sly replied as he put Hooty on his back and saddled up on Eda's staff with Eda, Luz, and Carmelita. "You ready, everyone?"

"Ready!" Bentley, Murray, King, and Dimitri said while boarding the van as it switched into hover mode.

"I'm ready!" Hooty chirped eagerly. "Lulu, here we come!" With that, both Eda's staff and the Cooper Gang van finally lifted off and left the Owl House in the dust. However, none of them realized that they were still being watched by the Emperor's Coven.

"So, the Owl Lady's sister has started getting wise, eh?" a tall, distinguished witch asked while holding up a cigarette with an arm that seemed to be made of a sentient purple sludge. He had slicked-back purple hair & was clad in a purple fur coat, a pink, black-striped shirt with a purple scarf, indigo slacks, and dark purple shoes. He and Kikimora were spectating on the team's journey to meet Lilith. "What do you say, Kikimora? Shall I go and bump her off along with the rest of the Clawthornes?"

"Patience Oozan, you still have your business with the Blights to settle." Kikimora turned the witch's suggestion down. "But I insist you prepare an Abomaton for me. It's time I snuff out that no good traitor myself!"

"Don't get too cocky, Kiki." Oozan smirked, taking a puff of his cigar. "I hear that human friend of Edalyn's got real spunk, a lot of chutzpah. Plus, given what Penelope told us, the Cooper has been in the thieving game for years."

"You underestimate me." Kikimora growled as she marched out of the room.

'On our way to Eda's old home, she and Luz gave me the rundown on what Lilith is like.' Sly monologued as the gang's journey began. 'Long before Luz came into their lives, Eda and Lilith both aspired to join the Emperor's Coven when they were girls, but there was only one spot left for them to take.'

'So, in an act of desperation, since Eda was surprisingly stronger than her, Lilith purchased a curse that would drain her magic for the day, only to accidentally curse her to turn into an owl monster. Messed up, I know. As a result, Lilith won the position in the Emperor's Coven while Eda was reviled as a freak, and she's been begging Eda for years to join her so that Belos can help heal the curse, and they can be together again.'

'Unfortunately for Lilith, once she finally succeeded in capturing Eda by putting Luz's life at risk, Belos revealed that he only wanted Eda petrified to set an example for the people of the Isles. This caused Lilith to decide to betray the Emperor and help Luz save Eda, at the cost of sharing the curse she gave Eda, to begin with.'

Sly then looked over at Carmelita, who was gazing at the setting sun. 'Guess Eda was right. Lilith and Carmelita would get along. They do like to side with wanted criminals for a common goal.' Just then, both staff and van began to slow down as they neared a modestly sized cottage in the distance, one that Eda recognized immediately. 'But now, it's time for a little family reunion.'

SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:

CLAWTHORNE AND ORDER

Job: Family Reunion

Clawthorne Residence, 5:00pm

"Here it is, gang, my old home." Eda declared as the team landed in front of the cottage. "Not too shabby, huh?"

"YAY, LULU!" Hooty cheered as he tried to drag Sly over to the front door. "Come on, Sly, let's get moving!"

"Hey Luz, you said Lilith was a member of the Emperor's Coven, right?" Sly asked Luz. "Maybe we can find something in that house that could give us some clues on what they're planning."

"Good idea." Luz nodded before turning to Eda. "Well, you ready for a family reunion?"

"Eh, got nothing better to do." Eda shrugged while looking up at the house she thought she'd never see again. With a heavy sigh, she began leading the Cooper Gang past the metal gate that surrounded it and through the courtyard.

"Ooh, this is gonna be awkward." Murray whispered to Bentley. "I mean, I'm sure Eda hasn't seen her fam in ages, right?"

"Actually, my mom kept visiting me once a year with what she thought would be a cure for the curse." Eda answered. "And I haven't seen Dad in ages either, not ever since an incident he accidentally caused that made the beast come out."

"Look, let's just try and be friendly." Sly said while the group reached the front door. "Who knows? Maybe we could have some potential allies on our hands." After cuing Hooty to zip it, Sly knocked on the front door. "Uh, hello? We're friends of Eda. Can we come in?" Instead of Lilith like Sly expected, he discovered a stout elderly woman dressed in a violet dress with a fur collar and holding a staff with a large hawk Palisman at the end. "Name's Sly Cooper, madame, and you're a bit shorter than I expected. Hair's not right either."

"Sly, I'm presuming that must be their mother." Bentley responded, rolling up on his wheelchair beside Sly to greet the old woman. "Hello there, Mrs. Clawthorne. My name's Bentley." He greeted, extending a mechanical hand to shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm Gwendolyn, and it's nice to meet you too." Gwendolyn responded when she noticed Bentley's wheelchair. "My, such a unique contraption."

"Thank you, I modified it myself." Bentley took the compliment before Gwendolyn noticed Eda among her guests.

"Hey, Mom." Eda said with a sheepish grin. "Long time no see, eh?"

"Oh, Eda and Luz. What a surprise." Gwendolyn grinned while stepping outside to greet her daughter and surrogate granddaughter. "So witchlet, what brings you back home after so many years?"

"Senora, we are here regarding your daughter's letter." Carmelita declared, presenting Lilith's letter that she pulled from her pocket. "Is she home today? We have questions she needs to answer."

"Funny you should mention that." Gwen replied before poking her head back inside the house. "Lilith, Eda's here, and she brought guests!"

"Coming!" another female called as she raced down the stairs and stepped outside. It was a woman who looked a bit like Eda, but she had curly, navy-blue hair, one turquoise eye along with a gray one that was both covered by a pair of glasses, a shoulderless T-shirt with a low battery design on it, a skirt that seemed crudely stitched together, and dark gray boots with laces. From what the Cooper Gang could gather by looks alone, this girl has seen better days. "Hello Eda, Luz, King. Who are your friends?"

LILITH CLAWTHRONE. THE OWL LADY'S SISTER.

"Lilith, I'd like you to meet the Cooper Gang." Luz introduced Sly and his friends to Lilith. "They're a band of thieves, and one cop, from another world just like me."

"Pleased to meetcha." Murray pretended to tip an invisible hat in greeting.

"Eda was right. She is kind of like me." Carmelita commented on Lilith's appearance.

"LULU!" Hooty cheered, bursting from Sly's back to wrap his best witch friend in his extendable body. "OHMIGOSH, I THOUGHT I'D NEVER SEE YOU IN PERSON AGAIN! PLEASE DON'T YOU EVER LEAVE ME!"

"Oh, Hootsifer." Lilith replied, nuzzling Hooty's face before she felt him closing in on her. "Now, can you please let go? I feel like I'm being choked to death."

"Hoot, sorry! Personal space and all that." Hooty chirped as he let Lilith go, only for Dimitri to try and make his move on the witch.

"Ah, so you must be the lovely Lilith Clawthorne." Dimitri said, clearly smitten with the Clawthorne sister. "I must say, very nice choice of hair color, mon chére." Despite the lizard man's advances, Lilith was a little unnerved by it. "Reminds me of a clear and radiant night sky, most romantic setting, no?"

"Oooookay?" Lilith replied, unsure what to think of the strange reptile man hitting on her.

"Dimitri, now's not the time to seduce the local women." Bentley scolded Dimitri, using a mechanical arm to grab the frogman by the shirt collar and dropping him on the ground. "Anyways, you must be Lilith. I'm Bentley, and we're here to discuss that letter you sent us."

"I figured Luz and Eda would want answers." Lilith nodded. "Come on in, I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"And maybe a little more." Sly smirked as the team entered the Clawthorne residence. In the distance, a humanoid creature made of purple sludge and wearing bronze armor lurked around the house, with Kikimora riding on its head.

"Nice place you got here, Clawthornes." Murray complimented the witches' home while the Cooper Gang sat down at a dinner table to get the answers they needed. "What do you got to eat? I'm starving!"

"Oh, I'd be happy if you tried out some of our family recipes." Lilith replied cheerfully. "Which would you prefer, blood sausage, blood cake, or some blood blood?"

"Boy, that's a lot of blood." Dimitri commented. "What are you, like, vampires?"

"Hey, word of advice, guys," Sly said to his two friends. "the cooking in this world can make you feel a little nauseous. Trust me, I had some myself courtesy of Eda."

"So, like we wanted to ask, who is this Wild Witch Syndicate you mentioned in the letter?" Bentley asked Lilith. "We know that they're a bunch of criminals like us that want to cause trouble, and stopping guys like them is our forte, but what made them want to throw their lot in with that emperor?"

"You see, they've been among the Boiling Isles' most wanted for decades now and commit outlandish crimes that make headlines on a regular basis." Lilith explained to the gang. "From what I've heard from some friends still in the Emperor's Coven, the Syndicate has been recruited by Belos for some secret project, and in exchange, he shall grant them amnesty from the Day of Unity."

"The Day of Unity?" Carmelita wondered. "Is that some kind of enforced holiday?"

"Far from it." Luz replied. "Belos keeps saying how the Day of Unity will make the Isles into a utopia free of wild magic, and he's been hunting down wild witches for years to enforce his twisted laws in preparation."

"Fascist dictator, got it." Sly declared. "Is there any way we can stop this guy? Like, any weaknesses we should know about?"

"I'm not sure, but I know he isn't invincible." Luz declared proudly before she presented a golden chip from her pocket. "Check it out; I broke off a piece of his mask rescuing Eda!"

"Whoa!" the Cooper Gang cheered in amazement while Sly gave Luz a high-five.

"You did what?!" Gwendolyn gasped. "I, I don't know what to say! No one had confronted Belos like that before and lived!"

"Well, consider me the first." Luz boasted when Sly poked her on the shoulder and motioned to the stairs. "Oh, I feel like I got to, uh, go to the little witches' room. May I be excused?"

"But we didn't even eat yet!" Murray complained. "I want to taste some genuine Boiling Isles cooking with all of us together!"

"Hey, maybe we can share leftovers." Sly suggested as he watched Luz walk up the stairs. "Dimitri, my man, why don't you entertain everyone with some stories?"

"Stories, eh?" Dimitri said while Sly used the opportunity to follow Luz. "Well, this is a funny little story from my neck of the woods. Y'see, it all starts with a little something I call kinetic aesthetic."

While Dimitri kept the party occupied, Sly and Luz made their way upstairs to a long hallway before them. "Okay, here's the plan." Sly said to Luz. "I'll go and rifle through Eda and Lilith's old things and see what I can find. You stay out here and call me if someone comes around."

"Wait, you're planning on invading Eda's privacy?" Luz asked. "And why can't I do that while you investigate Lilith? I'm pretty sure Eda would trust me with her stuff. Mostly."

"Hey, I'm a thief. It's what I do." Sly snarked before reaching into his backpack and pulling out a special book. "Here, how about some light reading to keep you occupied?" To Luz's surprise, Sly had produced his family's treasured Thievius Raccoonus for her to read. "What do you think?"

"Are you really trusting me with your family's secrets?" Luz quivered in amazement while holding the Coopers' legendary book in her hands. "Between this and The Good Witch Azura, I'm really starting to question which is my favorite book now."

"Don't get too emotional; I'm gonna need it back when I'm done here." Sly replied. "But if you'd like, I can let you write your name in it."

"That sounds great!" Luz cheered eagerly before Sly covered her mouth and shushed her. "Oh, sorry, gotta keep a low profile."

"Attagirl." Sly nodded with pride and sneaked away into the shadows of the hall. Looking through every door he could find, the raccoon initially found nothing in each of the rooms behind them until he found what he assumed to be Lilith's room. It looked ornate and tidy, fitting for a sophisticated lady like her, and seemed like it hadn't been touched in years.

Meanwhile, Luz had already become engrossed in the daring adventures of the Cooper family, the book revealing to her generations' worth of thieving techniques and stories of the history of a world almost exactly like her own, albeit one with talking animals instead of humans. Rioichi Cooper, Tennessee Kid Cooper, Slytunkhamen I and his son, Salim al-Kupar, it seemed that Sly had ancestors from all over the world that were just as talented as he was.

But there was this sinking feeling that for all these high-stakes, rollicking adventures, there was always someone to ruin everything. In many of the pictures she saw of Sly's forefathers, there was a bird-like silhouette always lurking behind them. But what could it have been? When she looked through the pages dedicated to Sly's swashbuckling ancestor Henriette "One-Eye" Cooper, Luz got an answer.

Staring the human in the face was the horrifying image of a mechanical owl. Wings spread as a show of dominance, empty glowing eyes with no soul to be found, and talons that could tear a man to bloody shreds. Looking through Henriette's notes on the owl, Luz began thinking back to Sly's story from when they first met. He had mentioned something about a guy named Clockwerk, who had robbed the book and separated its pages between himself and four other criminals after they attacked his family.

Combined with the chills running down Luz's spine, she couldn't help but cry while imagining a young Sly, cowering and helpless as his parents were thoughtlessly murdered by a cruel sociopath who survived only on pure hatred. Would it be rude to call someone you've only read about a heartless monster? The way Luz saw it after reading about Clockwerk, no. Not at all.

Speaking of Sly, he had just about turned Lilith's old room upside down in search of clues. Old clothes, sports paraphernalia, books, it seemed his trail was nearly running cold. But luckily, Sly's path would start heating up when he found some pamphlets talking about the Emperor's Coven and some kind of scroll hidden away in a drawer, and it was here that the gears in the thief's head started turning as he connected the dots.

Sly already knew that Lilith bought this curse to use on Eda, but how did she cast it without Eda knowing what it could do? Did she pass it off as a prank, or was it more sinister than Sly realized? Many possibilities were racing through his head, but one that stuck out was a younger Lilith sneaking into her sister's room at night, looming over a peaceful, sleeping Eda and casting the curse, unaware of the terror it would bring upon the two of them for years to come. Plus, something about the situation made Sly think back to the night of his parents' death.

Just then, the door behind Sly creaked open, and the voice of an old man called out. "Hello? Anyone in here?" His reflexes kicking in, Sly quickly turned around to discover an elderly man with scars covering the left side of his body, greying hair that looked remarkably like Eda's, a scar over his left eye, and a gentle smile on his face. "Hello there. What brings you here, sir?"

"Uh, nothing, gramps." Sly nervously said while hiding the pamphlet and the curse behind his back. "You must be Eda's dad, right? I could tell by the hair."

"So, you know my daughter, eh?" the gentleman said softly. "Edalyn did have a knack for drawing people in. I'm Dell, and you are?"

"I'm Sly Cooper, Mr. Clawthorne." Sly said before he looked around for a bit. "Look, between you and me sir, I'm on a mission, and I'm gonna need you to keep quiet about this. Got it?"

"What kind of mission?" Dell asked in a fatherly tone that reminded Sly of his own dad.

"I'm sorry, but that's kinda classified." Sly replied. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I got an accomplice waiting for me in the hall."

"Oh, you mean the girl with the book?" Dell said. "She's looking a little down in the dumps. Don't know what about that Thingus Raccamagoocus has gotten her so broken up, though."

"I'll go check up on her, and thanks." Sly thanked Dell before he left Lilith's room with his prizes in hand, until he was greeted by a teary-eyed Luz racing up to him. "Uh, Luz?"

"Sly!" Luz wailed as she trapped Sly in the tightest hug she could offer, looking to be on the verge of an emotional breakdown. "I'm so sorry about your folks! I now know why Eda freaked you out so much!"

"Hey hey hey, chill out, Luz!" Sly tried calming the human down by returning the hug. "Clockwerk is a traumatizing guy to be around, but what's gotten you so broken up about him?"

Luz could barely find the right words to say to Sly, other than stuttering and blubbering between sobs. As soon as the thief pulled a tissue from a nearby tissue box for her to blow in, Luz gave a proper response. "Because I know how you feel."

"How so?" Sly wondered, getting on one knee to comfort Luz. "Your folks no longer with you too?"

"Well, not entirely." Luz sniffled as she pulled out her phone and showed Sly pictures of her family back in her world, her mother and father. "The anniversary of my dad's death is coming soon, and me and my mom always made a tradition out of making flowers for him, since he always brought home flowers for us on our birthdays."

"Guess your dad must be a real stand-up guy, huh?" Sly remarked.

"The best." Luz smiled tearfully. "But now, I don't think we can do it this year, since I had to leave my mamá back on Earth and got her worried that she failed me as a mother. Which reminds me, what were your parents like?"

"My parents?" Sly chuckled dryly. "One of my dad's old cohorts once told me that he was a real one-of-a-kind guy, but a little headstrong. He taught me everything I knew, and he and my mom were there for me every step of the way. At least, until you-know-who came along."

"Look, I'm sorry I'm getting all worked up about this, but I just want you to know that you aren't alone here." Luz stuttered. "In case you need a shoulder to cry on, I'll-"

Without a moment to hesitate, Sly interrupted Luz by wrapping Luz in a tight hug of his own, causing tears to once again well up in the human's eyes as she sobbed gently into his shoulder. Though Sly tried to keep a cool head, there were a few tears of his own dropping from his mask. Who knew that such a chipper, bright young girl would allow herself to be this vulnerable around a near stranger?

JOB COMPLETE

"Hey, how about we see how everyone else is doing?" Sly asked softly. "I'm sure they're already having seconds by now."

"Come on, just a few more seconds?" Luz suggested, her eyes wide and glistening with tears. One look at the girl's face forced Sly to give in, and they returned to comforting each other. In this hallway, the raccoon and the human became more than just acquaintances and partners in crime. Now, they seemed more like brother and sister.

Dell watched the pair as he left Lilith's room, chuckling as he fondly looked back on similar tender moments between his daughters when they were young.

Job: Home Invasion

"And I was like, "Show your bling and let me shine you!" and he said, "I have no idea what you're saying."" Dimitri told the story of his first encounter with Sly to the group back at the dining table. "I hoped he leave well enough alone, but then he followed up with, "And your suit sucks.""

"How long have we been hearing his life story?" Lilith asked Carmelita while on the verge of dozing off from Dimitri's tales.

"About twenty minutes." Carmelita answered, poking at her blood sausage with a fork. "So, I've been told you worked in law enforcement too?"

"Leader of the Emperor's Coven." Lilith answered while a goofy-looking white bird perched atop her head.

"Interpol, fourth generation, top of the class at Sleuth Academy, honors at Police Academy." Carmelita added, presenting the badge attached to her collar. "I've been told we might get along based on occupations and hair color."

"That reminds me, are you dyed?" Lilith asked the Interpol officer. "I dyed my hair to try and look more intimidating."

"No, no, I am not." Carmelita answered. "So what was life like for you with the Emperor's Coven, Lilith?"

"Oh, just a boring desk job, showing up at coventions, and hunting down my sister." Lilith replied. "Bet you thought it would've been a bit more glamorous, eh?" Just then, there was a sudden knock at the door. "Could someone get that?"

"Hello, pizza's here." A voice that sounded a little too familiar to the Clawthorne sisters said behind the door while Dimitri went up to answer it. But just as he was about to turn the knob, the door suddenly squashed him flat as Kikimora barged into the house while riding atop an Abomaton. "Pizza delivery. Oldest trick in the book."

"Who is that, one of your colleagues from the Coven?" Carmelita asked Lilith while the Cooper Gang took up arms against the intruder.

"Unfortunately." Lilith growled before looking at Kikimora. "What business do you have here, Kiki?"

"Oh, you know, just passing through, on a little mission to snuff out your traitorous hide for good." Kikimora replied. "And look, you're with those filthy Coopers too."

"As much as it would hurt me to bring harm upon a fellow law enforcer, I don't think you have clearance to break in here!" Carmelita replied before firing her shock pistol at the Abomaton, only for the blast to be absorbed into its body. "What?"

"Must be one of those new-fangled Abominations by the Blights." Eda observed.

"The Emperor said my children were no longer wanted, so you should have no quarrel with us." Gwen proclaimed, standing up for her daughters.

"An ant has no quarrel with a boot." Kikimora snarled while the Abomaton glared menacingly at the two wild witches.

"Hey tiny demon lady, if you wanna hurt the Murray's friends, you gotta get through the Murray first!" Murray roared and tackled the Abomaton to the ground outside before he began wailing on it.

"What's taking those two so long?!" King asked regarding Sly and Luz while the rest of the group raced outside. "What did Luz do at Hexside to take forever in the bathroom?"

As soon as the pair heard the commotion downstairs, Sly and Luz raced to the broken front door to discover the source of the crashing sounds, and Luz recognized the culprit all too well. "Kikimora?! What brings you here?!"

"Friend of yours?" Sly asked sarcastically while the Abomaton wrestled Murray away and stood up to face the human & the raccoon.

"Sly Cooper, we meet at last." Kikimora declared as the Abomaton lowered its hand to allow the little demon to meet the raccoon's eyes. "I am Kikimora, personal right hand to the Emperor of the Boiling Isles, on a mission to terminate your little crew and eliminate a certain traitor to our cause in your midst. If you know what's good for you, surrender at once."

Unfortunately for Kikimora, Sly was not intimidated by her in the slightest. "Hey, who invited this creepy lost child?" he asked, much to her annoyance. "And what's with her attitude, too?"

"Yeah, are all demons naturally that tiny?" Murray wondered while looking at King.

"Not all of them, Murray." King replied. "I'll tell you more later."

"Enough of this!" Kikimora angrily stomped her foot on the modified Abomination's hand, causing it to brandish a massive arm cannon that it pointed at Sly. "Fire!"

"Oh boy." Sly muttered as he nimbly leaped away from the blast, and it hit straight through a window. "Who made those things? They should really consider upgrading the aim!"

"You're right; she should really hop to it." Kikimora grumbled to herself before turning her attention to Luz. "And as for you."

"Luz, look out!" Lilith cried as the Abomaton prepared to fire another blast at Luz, only for the former leader of the Emperor's Coven to toss an ice glyph at it that froze the arm cannon solid. "Someone, get her before she breaks the ice!"

"On it!" Murray exclaimed before he picked up King and began to wind up for a throw.

"Weh?!" King yelped in shock before the hippo lobbed him at the Abomaton. "Well, guess I should probably whip this out." King then let out a supersonic yell that briefly knocked the Abomaton off its feet while he shoved Kikimora off its head, before the two proceeded to slap each other repeatedly.

"Stop hitting me, fleabag!" Kikimora yelled petulantly as she struggled to stop the onslaught of smacking.

"You started it!" King replied while landing a few good slaps across Kikimora's smug face.

While Kikimora was distracted, however, the Abomaton slowly got up and turned its amorphous hand into a scythe to try and cut away at its attackers. However, Gwen decided to step in to help with a few taps of her staff on the ground. "Hawksley, if you please."

Suddenly, the massive hawk at the end of Gwen's staff came to life, indicating to Sly that it was another Palisman just like Owlbert, and it swooped about to distract the Abomaton while buying the gang time to destroy it.

Eda quickly changed into her harpy form and charged at the Abomaton, grabbing onto its other arm and clawing at it. "Hey, gonna need a lift here!" she exclaimed as Sly, Carmelita, Dimitri, Murray, and Lilith joined her in beating the beast down.

"With pleasure!" Bentley replied, preparing one of his grenades, when he suddenly got an idea. "Hey Luz, got any of those glyphs I can borrow?"

"Pick a glyph, any glyph!" Luz presented her glyphs to Bentley like a deck of playing cards. Bentley had yet to learn which glyph did which, so he picked the first one that stuck out to him. "What's this one supposed to be?"

"A fire glyph." Luz explained. "Attach it to one of your bombs and see what happens!"

Bentley did just that, and the paper vanished into flames, setting the grenade on fire, and he tossed it straight at the Abomaton's gooey body. As the grenade was submerged, Bentley realized what was about to happen. "Everyone run, I threw one of my grenades at it!"

"Wait, a what?" Eda wondered before the Abomaton abruptly combusted, sending her and the offworlders flying and Abomination goo getting everywhere.

JOB COMPLETE

As the dust settled, Kikimora emerged from a particularly huge pile of sludge that covered her and King, and she wasn't happy.

"You!" the Emperor's right hand pointed an accusing finger at Sly as he dusted himself off and helped Lilith & Carmelita up. "I don't know where you came from or what you did to destroy my Abomaton, but mark my words! Once Belos finds out about your transgressions, he will make you pay!"

Sly, however, was left unamused at the tiny demon's furious ranting and felt that it was time someone shut her up. "Anyone care to add insult to her injuries?"

"Allow me." Lilith said while marching forward and rolling up her sleeve. "I've been wanting to do this for ages."

"And you Lilith should know better than to keep crossing us!" Kikimora kept yelling, unaware of her former comrade's intentions. "Perhaps we've been a little too lenient before, and-What are you doing?"

Lilith answered by giving Kikimora a nasty punch in the eye that knocked her down to the ground and quickly made Murray blush. "Adding insult to injury, of course." Lilith said crossly.

"Wow, you got a nice arm, Lily!" Murray complimented the witch's strength. "You work out or something?"

"Boxing lessons." Lilith answered as she presented her bicep to Murray. "Maybe we could go a few rounds sometime?"

"It would be an honor!" Murray replied with a nod.

"Okay, Kiki, you officially lost." Sly stated while pointing his cane at Kikimora. "We blew up your weird little slime robot, and you got punched in the face. What do you have to say for yourself?"

However, Kikimora just gave an evil laugh to the raccoon's confusion in response. "Oh, Sly Cooper," she cackled confidently with a raise of one of the fingers covering her eyes. "You couldn't be more wrong." Almost immediately, Lilith began twitching in place while everyone else watched in horror. Strange yellow tendrils had now emerged from her arm while Kikimora kept laughing. "You might think that Lilith is no longer under the emperor's control, but all members of the Emperor's Coven receive a special brand that also serves as an immobilizing spell that we can use to subdue traitors whenever we please."

"Whoa, that looks like a real nasty rash." Murray observed the sigil's effect on Lilith. "Here, let me get that for you." While Murray began scratching Lilith's arm, his strength accidentally caused it to fall off her torso in a humorously anticlimactic fashion. "Oops."

All was quiet in the Clawthornes' courtyard as they stared awkwardly at the duo while the sigil continued overtaking the disembodied arm. On the other hand, Kikimora was more than stunned at Murray's accidental rescue. "The Cooper Gang is more of a threat than I thought."

"Hey, I was just trying to be a nice guy." Murray replied when he realized something. "Hey, is it me, or is she the right size to kicked sky high?"

"Uh, what are you doing?" Kikimora gulped in fright as Sly marched up to her and picked her up off the ground.

"Hey, you're right; she's so small!" Sly observed before he set Kikimora down like a football. "Yo Murray, let's see how far she goes!"

"Are they seriously doing what I think they're doing?" Eda said, picking King out of the Abomination goop while on the verge of laughter.

"Boys." Carmelita shook her head while the group watched Murray run up and kick the Emperor's Coven's leader sky high.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" Kikimora screamed as she flew so high that she could barely be seen anymore except for a twinkle in the evening sky.

"How far do you think she went?" Sly asked, looking up.

"Maybe more than nine or ten yards." Bentley calculated the angle of Kikimora's trajectory combined with the strength of Murray's kick. "Now that she's out of the way, let me see who made this Abomaton thing."

Rolling his wheelchair over to the remnants of Kikimora's muscle, Bentley was able to fish a hunk of metal from the wreckage with some writing on it. "Manufactured by Blight Industries." He read off the piece he found. "Hm, gonna have to look into those guys later." However, as Bentley continued examining the metal, his eyes soon laid upon a familiar sigil that made him gasp. "Uh, guys?"

"Something the matter Bentley?" Sly asked when Bentley showed him the image of a mouse's face right next to the writing he had discovered. "Oh, funny you should mention that. I've wanted to tell you, but then all this happened."

"What are you two talking about?" Carmelita wondered as she took the metal out of Bentley's hands to discover the symbol herself, while Murray and Dimitri looked over her shoulders. "Oh no."

"Oh no? Is something the matter?" Luz asked the Cooper Gang in concern.

"Uh, hey, Mrs. Clawthrone, we should come back inside." Sly declared nervously. "I feel like we got some more cookies in the oven we need to let out, so to speak."

The Emperor's Castle, 6:00 pm

Far from the Clawthorne residence, Kikimora had been retrieved from her battle with the Cooper Gang and was immediately brought into the Emperor's throne room, where Penelope stood by his side along with nine witches, all looking down on her.

Aside from Oozan, there was also an orange-skinned, purple-haired woman with green-tinted goggles and a lab coat holding an elixir, and a distinguished fellow with slicked-back graying hair, a blue suit, and light blue tie.

Along with them were a strange bug creature in ragged clothing, a muscular witch with a white fur jacket covering his bare, hairy chest, and a voluptuous dark-skinned woman dressed in revealing nurse attire. Also in the throne room were a stout man with an anchor tattoo and a five-o'clock shadow dressed in construction worker attire, a handsome young witch dressed all in red with a guitar hanging on his back, and a genie-like man with dark blue skin, a turban, a long beard, a pink belt with a purple eye symbol on the buckle, and a taunting grin on his face as he tilted his head to the side.

"That was utterly pathetic." Penelope scolded Kikimora harshly. "And you call yourself his majesty's wings."

"Please, your grace, I beg you to grant me mercy!" Kikimora bowed to her emperor in a desperate plea to regain his favor. "I simply got too cocky, and those thieves surprised me!"

"Don't cry, Kiki." Belos calmly interrupted his second in command. "But you are correct, these thieves are more capable than we're led to believe."

"See, I told you sending me out was a better idea!" Oozan advised.

"But how much would change if you went over there?" the orange-skinned scientist asked.

"She raises a good point." The witch in the suit agreed. "Now, can we make this quick? I have an election speech to give in Latissa, and I cannot keep my voters waiting!"

"Very well, you are all dismissed." Belos declared with a raise of his hand, allowing the Wild Witch Syndicate to disperse to their own plans.

"I'm telling you, sir, these witches will be trouble for us soon." Kikimora stated. "I can already tell that the moment they succeed in their plans, they'll decide to overthrow you when the Day of Unity comes!"

"You underestimate them." Belos replied. "The Titan has plans for them, as do I. If we are to eliminate all wild witches in time for the Day of Unity, then it takes a wild witch to know how they think."

"I said it once, and I'll say it again. I am sure that's a bad idea that will undoubtedly backfire on us." Kikimora objected to the emperor's plan. "No offense, my liege."

Belos said nothing, but Penelope just rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Remind me again why he keeps you around?"

Back at the Clawthornes' house, the Cooper Gang had just finished explaining their history with Penelope. About how Bentley had fallen for her before she suddenly vanished and turned over to Le Paradox, and how she had betrayed their trust under the warped belief that Sly was wasting Bentley's potential.

"Whoa." Luz gasped in shock at the story she had just heard. "So, was Penelope brainwashed, or was she always like that?"

"I'm not sure. We never asked for her backstory." Sly answered.

"I'm betting she was brainwashed too." Dimitri declared. "I mean, I was part of big job where my bros and I tried making everyone pissed off enough to bring back some crazy owl, so I know a thing or two about it."

"I'm betting it was an evil clone, and the real one is still out there!" Murray added, much to Dimitri's disbelief.

"So what, does that mean you guys been wasting time with the clone and everything was completely pointless?" Dimitri argued with his main man.

"Dimitri, you now believe in the multiverse and magic, yet evil clones are too farfetched for you to handle?" Bentley pointed out the frogman's hypocrisy, to which Dimitri replied with a shrug.

"Regardless, it seems you're not the only ones from that other world to come here." Lilith said. "And judging by Kikimora's appearance earlier, I fear the Emperor might be targeting us again."

"Don't worry, Lilith, we got your back." Sly said to the witch.

"Yeah, you're our friend Lulu, and nothing can change that!" Hooty replied, pecking at Lilith's face and giving her some kisses all over.

"Oh, thank you for your kindness." Lilith blushed. "But still, I feel like you may need my assistance for this one." She then turned to her mother. "Mom, I think I must return to the Owl House to assist Luz and Sly. Otherwise, I could put you and Father at risk if I continue staying here."

"Okay sweet flea, you can go." Gwendolyn agreed with her eldest daughter. "Besides, our research on the curse hasn't gotten us anywhere lately."

"Yay, you're coming home!" Hooty cheered at Lilith's decision.

"I can see someone's a little excited." Sly smirked at the house demon as he got up, only to realize he had forgotten something. "Oh no, the Thievius Raccoonus! Luz and I must've left it upstairs!" Fortunately for Sly, a little yellow bird flapped in carrying the Coopers' fabled book in its talons before dropping it into Sly's hands. There was now only one person Sly knew could be upstairs. "Hey, thanks, mister!"

"No problem Sly!" Dell's voice called from upstairs, the sound of which made Eda cringe a little.

"Okay, we're wasting daylight here; let's get back to the Owl House and start planning." Eda hastily declared as she got up and walked out the door while Owlbert in hand. "Mom, it's been nice seeing you again; tell Dad I said hi, byyyye!"

"Daddy issues, huh?" Murray asked. "Something the matter between them?"

"I don't know either, but let's not dwell on that." Sly stated. "We got some witches to stop. Gwen, if we ever find ourselves needing you, we'll make sure to give you a call."

"That would be delightful, Sly. See you soon." Gwen bade the gang farewell as they disembarked from her house and back to the van, just as Dell came downstairs. "Oh, Dell, you just missed Edalyn and her guests!"

"Don't worry, honey, I actually met one of them." Dell replied to his wife. "Seemed a little jumpy and secretive, but he also had a good heart. Especially around that little girl he was hugging."

The Owl House, 8:00 pm

'When we finally returned to the Owl House, Lilith wasted no time settling herself back in.' Sly narrated as the group settled down for the night. 'Just as we predicted, Carmelita and Lilith are getting along pretty well.' Sly turned his attention to the two women, sharing stories of Interpol and the Emperor's Coven over tea, and looking like they were enjoying each other's company. Meanwhile, King gave Murray and Dimitri a crash course on demons, while Bentley examined Luz's glyphs.

"The power of the elements in the palm of my hand." Bentley gasped in awe as he created a small icicle from an ice glyph. "What other wonders do these Isles possess?"

"I'm glad you asked." Luz said before presenting a little mouse-like demon to the turtle. "We call this little guy an echo mouse."

"A mouse?" Bentley wondered while adjusting his glasses. "What good can a mouse do for my research?"

"Just watch." Eda said before she pressed down on the critter's head and made light come out of it like a film projector, revealing to Bentley a man's silhouette holding a book as he strolled through the woods.

"My name is Philip Wittebane. And I have found myself in a world so horrid, yet so fantastic, few minds could have dreamt it." A man with an English accent, which Bentley immediately deduced to be the man on the screen, narrated to himself. "If only those at home could see what I have, and perhaps they shall."

"You mean to tell me we weren't the first to get stuck here?!" Bentley gasped in awe. "Luz, would you be so kind as to lend me that thing, so I study these projections?"

"Sure, the more, the merrier." Luz obliged.

'Looks like Bentley's gonna have a blast here.' Sly continued narrating as he watched Luz walk away to continue perusing the Thievius Raccoonus. 'And while Luz is off learning about my family history, I think I'll check out some of her books in exchange.' Sly then popped out a Good Witch Azura book and began to read through it.

Chapter Text

Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood

Chapter 4: Hex School Magical

The Owl House, 7:30 am

The gentle ringing of Luz's alarm clock roused Sly from his slumber once again as he turned on his side to face his new human sidekick and Carmelita, who was now clad in some sweatpants and a purple T-shirt with 'BAD GIRL COVEN' and a radical caricature of Eda on it over her Interpol uniform. "Morning, girls."

"Morning, Sly." Luz greeted the raccoon with a yawn. "How did you sleep last night?"

"Better than ever," Sly confidently replied. "now that I have my lady love back and sleeping with me & my new partner."

"Cut it out, Sly." Carmelita groaned in exhaustion as she got up to rub her eyes. "Come on, Eda must be making breakfast downstairs." As Luz walked out of the closet bedroom, Carmelita turned to Sly. "So, you and her, huh?"

"What about it?" Sly asked his cop crush.

"I mean, she's just a little human girl; you're a notorious raccoon thief." Carmelita replied. "What made you two click so well together?"

"Well, aside from the fact that we're both stuck here, I kinda see a little bit of myself in the kid." Sly responded. "That can-do attitude, devotion to her friends, guts, she's kinda like a tinier version of me." However, Sly's praise of Luz soon turned dour. "Plus, she knows what it's like to lose someone too."

"You sure?" Carmelita quizzed the thief. "She seems pretty upbeat to me."

"That's the thing; Luz lost family too." Sly confessed, shocking the Interpol officer. "She confessed this to me after discovering Clockwerk in the Thievius Raccoonus. Her dad is dead, and her mom is stuck in the human realm, waiting for Luz to come home someday."

"Hablan en serio?" Carmelita gasped.

"Uh, si." Sly answered, trying his best to imitate the fox's Spanish. "Look, you can say I might be a bad influence on Luz all you like, but aside from Eda, King, Hooty, Lilith, and a few others, I think, she's all alone in this place. So please, just give me the benefit of the doubt."

"I think I get it now." Carmelita realized. "Alright, I'll leave you two alone for a bit, but I'll still be watching you, Cooper."

"Guess some things never change." Sly smirked before he walked out of the closet. "You comin'?"

"Sure." Carmelita accepted, taking her criminal boyfriend by the hand as he picked her up off the floor, and walked downstairs together.

"Took you two long enough." Eda greeted Sly and Carmelita with a snort as she made breakfast. "Why, needed to get some good morning smooching in?"

"Eda!" Sly blushed with a grin. "Hey, where's the rest of my gang?"

"Oh, you mean Bentley and Murray?" Eda answered. "Well, Shellhead has been up all night researching the Boiling Isles, so I sent Dimitri to try and keep him from dozing off."

A sleeping Bentley, face covered in a book documenting the history of the Boiling Isles, was wheeled into the living room by a bathrobe and cucumber facial-wearing Dimitri with King on his shoulder. "Yeah, dudes, I think he out like a light."

"Being a nerd can do that to people." King chuckled.

"And as for the big guy, he and Lily decided to get some morning boxing training in." Eda continued, gesturing to a window next to the front door where everyone could see Murray and Lilith facing off in the front yard, with Hooty cheering his best witch friend on.

For her sparring match with the Murray, Lilith decided to tie her hair up in a ponytail while swapping her glasses and regular clothes for a black tank top with an Emperor's Coven sigil on the left side of her chest, a pair of white athletic shorts, and fingerless gloves. "On your left!" she cried, ducking beneath Murray's arm and jabbing him in his bare belly.

"Cheap shot!" Murray replied, giving the witch a few punches while making sure to go easy due to being opposites in terms of size.

"Woo, go Lulu!" Hooty cried, waving around a pennant with Lilith's name on it.

"Taking all bets guys, taking all bets!" Eda declared while watching the fight from outside.

"500 says Murray whips out the Thunder Flop!" Sly exclaimed.

"600 says Lilith pulls a surprise attack!" King declared, trying to beat Sly's bet.

"Good grief." Carmelita shook her head in annoyance.

"Morning, everyone." Luz greeted the group after having finished getting ready. "What are you all betting on?"

"Goth MILF and main man Murray duking it out!" Dimitri answered before looking down at Bentley, still fast asleep. "Hey Benny, wake up, will ya?!" he yelled, taking the book off Bentley's face and smacking him in the head with it, finally waking the turtle up.

"SHRIMP COCKTAIL!" Bentley exclaimed upon awakening when he realized it was morning. "Oh, good morning, everyone. How long was I out?"

"It's only 7:30, or whatever." Sly replied. "You must've been working overtime on your research, huh?"

"Can you blame me?" Bentley added while pouring himself some coffee. "There's so much I want to learn about this place! My findings could revolutionize our understanding of the universe as we know it!"

"Hey, I think Murray's ready for a finisher!" Dimitri cried, interrupting Bentley's rambling as the team watched the pink hippo knock his opponent to the ground before he jumped into the air.

"You better get ready Lily, 'cause here comes my THUNDER FLOP!" Murray yelled with his arms and legs splayed out as he slammed onto the ground, the resulting shockwave making Lilith fly into Hooty's grasp.

"Aw, man, I was really hoping you would win, Lulu." Hooty groaned in disappointment over his bestie's loss.

"I was hoping I'd get a win in too, Hootsifer." Lilith agreed before Murray tossed her a rag to wipe off the sweat on her face. "You did good, Murray."

"Chalk it up to years of experience." Murray proclaimed. "But hey, you weren't half bad either. Now let's go back inside. I'm starving!"

As the pair returned to the Owl House, Murray was met with applause for his victory, while Lilith's sweaty form gained Dimitri's admiration. "Love looks not with the eye, but with the mind." The lovestruck lizard soliloquized. "And therefore, is winged Cupid painted blind?"

"Oh, thank you, I guess." Lilith blushed in embarrassment while Carmelita carted Dimitri away from her. "I think I'll go hit the showers for a bit."

"I'll wash your back!" Hooty exclaimed as Lilith left for upstairs.

"Lucky bird." Dimitri grumbled while sitting down at the breakfast table and facing Luz. "So sport, what do you do around here?"

"I originally came here to learn magic, which made me want to train under Eda and later study at Hexside." Luz explained. "Hexside is one of the three big magic schools on the Boiling Isles, and I happen to be the first human student."

"Interesting." Bentley murmured while jotting down some notes. "You think any of these schools could tell us more about the Syndicate?"

"Not sure." Eda stated. "But I do happen to recognize some of the members as old classmates of Lilith and me."

"Sweet!" Murray exclaimed. "Hey, one question first. Are you guys sorted into houses at school like in the movies? What house are you in, Luz?"

"If by house you mean coven track, then all of them." Luz declared in response. "It's a long story."

"Coven tracks?" Carmelita wondered. "You mean like these nine covens we've heard about."

"Yep yep yep." King replied. "There are nine in total, each dedicated to one form of magic, like illusions, music, plants, making your own servants, potions, the works."

"That reminds me, I should be getting ready soon." Luz stated, finishing her breakfast and walking away.

"And we got another heist to pull off." Sly added. "I say we try and steal an old Hexside yearbook so we can learn all we need to know about these guys."

"Wouldn't it be easier just to use one of the yearbooks Eda has lying around?" King wondered.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Sly grinned, kicking his legs up on the table with a smug grin on his face. "Bentley, Murray, we're going back to school."

'Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, one of the big three magic schools of the Boiling Isles, alma mater of Eda and Lilith, and our next big target.' Sly narrated to himself while examining some old photos of the Clawthorne sisters' years at Hexside, including one particular picture of Eda holding hands with a dark-skinned witch with mint green hair and big glasses. 'Sure enough, Luz is also attending this school during her stay at the Isles, so while we could just walk in on her behalf and ask for one, some good ol' infiltration just seems more fun.'

Sly then turned his attention to a pamphlet promoting Hexside, and on it was the image of an aged man who looked like his head was being devoured by an imp that the brochure called its principal. 'But from what Eda tells us, we're gonna have to watch our backs breaking in or get a good taste of their rather messed up disciplinary measures.'

As Luz walked back downstairs in her Hexside uniform and disembarked for school, the Cooper Gang waved her goodbye while continuing to make plans for their big yearbook heist. 'Sounds like a challenge, and us Coopers love a challenge.'

SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:

HEX SCHOOL MAGICAL

"Here's the situation, everyone." Bentley narrated while using the scrying spell to present his plan to the gang. "Hexside has a moderately stern system, which means one false move could cause trouble for the mission. Sly, since you're the most youthful out of everyone in this room at the moment, we're sending you out to break into Hexside under the guise of a student."

"Sounds like a plan, but don't you think anyone will get suspicious of a big raccoon man walking around with high school students?" Sly asked his resident genius while being shown an image of some Hexside students.

"Oh please, we've all seen weirder 'round here." Eda chuckled. "Plus, I've seen human shows featuring grown men and women pretending to be teenagers."

"We got those on our world too." Sly proclaimed. "So, where can I get one of those uniforms?"

"I've actually arranged for the local tailor in Bonesborough to make you one." Bentley replied. "Once you secure the uniform, bring it over to me so I can make some modifications that'll allow you to look like you're capable of magic like your pretend peers."

"Seems like an awful lot of work for just one yearbook." Carmelita commented. "As King said, doesn't Eda have some lying around?"

"I do, but I just use most of them for kindling." Eda stated.

"Back on topic, once Sly has been admitted into Hexside, he'll assimilate into the student lifestyle while searching for the yearbook." Bentley continued, presenting an image of young witches in class in the cauldron, then it changed to one comparing Sly's cane to a witch's staff. "One problem, with at least one recent exception, witches receive their staffs upon graduation, so that means the cane has got to go."

"A shame, but sacrifices have to be made." Sly replied.

"It would seem so." Bentley nodded. "Now, let's get moving. Oh, and if you see Luz, be sure to say hi for me."

The Owl House, 8:15 am

When Lilith finally emerged from the shower, the Cooper Gang prepared for their big Hexside job when they turned to greet her. "Hey Lily, someone's smelling nice!" Murray said.

"Thank you." Lilith replied while tucking her hair beneath the towel on her head. "So, what are you all up to?"

"We gonna rob a school, babe!" Dimitri exclaimed.

"Dimitri means that we believe Hexside could possess some useful info on the Wild Witch Syndicate," Carmelita reiterated the frogman's declaration. "Since Eda likes to burn useful items, we're planning on stealing an old yearbook from the school."

"It's times like this where I wish I could've brought one with me." Lilith deadpanned.

"Yeah, but where's the fun in that?" Eda replied with a quote from Sly before turning to the Cooper. "You ready for this, Cooper?"

"As I'll ever be, but one question first." Sly answered before he pulled up another old photo of Eda and Lilith as teenagers. "Were you really redheads back in the day?"

"Yep, curse just makes me look older." Eda reminded Sly.

"And last night, Lilith told me she dyed her hair to try and look more intimidating." Carmelita added, embarrassing the witch while causing Sly, Murray, and Dimitri to start laughing uproariously.

"So you mean to tell me you're a forty-something-year-old woman in her goth phase?!" Sly cackled loudly.

"Like you're one to talk, Sly," Bentley smirked. "Remember your emo phase back when we were kids?"

"BENTLEY, NO!" Sly screamed in horror before the turtle pulled up some embarrassing pictures of Sly dressed in black leather with gaudy makeup and piercings. "Aw, you told me that was just between us!"

"Come on, Sly, these are just too priceless!" Bentley laughed along with the rest of the boys.

"How do you get so much metal in your ear?" King asked.

"You never told me you had an emo phase." Carmelita giggled while taking one of the photos for her, Lilith, and Hooty to examine.

"IT WASN'T A PHASE; IT WAS WHO I WAS! FOR LIKE, A MONTH!" Sly yelled as he grabbed the photo before realizing what he had just said. "Wow, guess I walked right into that one."

"Okay, we've had fun picking on Sly and Lilith, but we still got a job to do." Bentley said. "You know where to go, right?"

"Tailor, got it." Sly replied and prepared to disembark. "See you later."

Job: School Uniform Retrieval

Bonesborough Streets, 8:35 am

Not too far from the Owl House, Sly made his way to the medieval gothic-style town of Bonesborough. Hiding on the rooftops with a cloak over his head, the thief gazed at his new surroundings, at the witches and demons walking through the streets, the shops set up along the sidewalks, and Coven Scouts on morning patrol, which Sly took as a sign that he should stay on the roofs until further notice. He then proceeded to take out his binocucom to search for the tailor.

"Testing, testing, is this thing on?" Eda said, testing out the communication function of the binocucom as she connected with Sly. "Man, these binoc-whatsits ain't half bad! Wonder if Bentley is willing to lend me some? I haven't had anything to sell in ages!"

"Hey Eda, I'm in Bonesborough right now." Sly greeted the Owl Lady. "The tailor shouldn't be too far from here, right?"

"You betcha ringtail." Eda snapped a finger. "Just head on over and try not to get caught. I hear security's getting pretty tight lately."

Sly heard a fight break out at the nearby tavern, followed by an unlucky witch getting tossed out by a shorter witch dressed like a construction worker and his animal-like cronies.

"WHERE'S MY MONEY, YOU DAMNED LOUT?!" the construction worker yelled in his victim's face while grabbing him by the collar.

"I promise, Mr. Edifice, just give me more time!" the witch cried out desperately. "I have a family, for Titan's sake!"

"Well, I'll be sure to send them my regards once I throw you out." The handyman declared before he snapped his fingers. "Handymen, throw 'em in the back with all the others!"

"Yes, sir!" the four flunkies obeyed, grabbing the witch by each of his limbs and dragging him into a nearby carriage before shutting the doors on him.

"You won't get away with this, you traitors!" the witch cried out. "The Emperor is a menace to the Boiling Isles, he must be stopped!"

"Big talk comin' from someone who's gonna get the special treatment once we wheel you to the big man!" Mr. Edifice cackled as he sat up at the front of the carriage and whipped the ratlike worms pulling it to slither away.

"He seems like a pleasant guy." Sly remarked at what had just happened.

"Best look out for Mr. Cranky over there." Eda warned Sly. "Archer Edifice is one of the toughest mob bosses on this side of the Isles. Mess with him, and he'll repay in kind."

"Gotcha." Sly declared before returning to his mission.

Eventually, he reached the tailor and proceeded to knock on her door. An elderly woman opened the door for Sly and allowed him inside. "Hello there, young man. I hear you placed an order?"

"Yes, one Hexside uniform, please." Sly responded to the tailor, who then presented him with a light gray tunic with a matching cowl, boots, and belt, and white sleeves & leggings. "Thanks. And just my size too."

"You're very welcome." The tailor nodded before she motioned over to a changing room. "Now, right this way, please."

Sly walked on over to the changing room with the uniform tucked under his arm, and a few moments later, he emerged dressed as a full student of Hexside. "Not too shabby."

"Great work Sly," Bentley said over Sly's earpiece. "now just bring it over to my location so I can make some modification, and then it's off to school."

"Roger that Bentley." Sly responded.

"Pardon me, sir, but who's Bentley?" the tailor asked her customer.

"Oh, it's just an imaginary friend who tells me to do stuff." Sly responded, trying to hide his true intentions. "You wouldn't understand."

"Oh, I understand quite a bit." The tailor chuckled before turning to a spectral being that had just appeared beside her. "Isn't that right, Bobby?"

"PURGE THE INNOCENT, CLAIM THIS WORLD AS YOUR OWN," Bobby gravely commanded the tailor. "and be sure to refill on snacks. Seriously, I am getting hangry! Hangry enough to possibly devour your soul."

"Oh, you kidder, I'll make a list." The tailor giggled, making Sly see this as his cue to leave the shop slowly. "Bye now, have fun at Hexside!"

"Thanks again miss." Sly nervously giggled while closing the door behind him and leaving the tailor behind.

Returning to the rooftops away from the Coven Scouts, Sly eventually found Bentley awaiting him on the roof of a store called Mr. Elixir with tools from his wheelchair at the ready. "So, how was it?"

"The lady running the joint was nice, although I fear she might not be long for this world." Sly admitted to the turtle. "She's got a little friend that might consume her soul if she doesn't feed him."

"Yeah, that's disturbing." Bentley replied awkwardly. "Anyways, hand over the uniform, and I'll work my magic. In the meantime, try talking to the proprietor of this Elixir place. Eda says he'll be pretty useful on our missions."

While Bentley got to work on Sly's new uniform, Sly jumped back down the store to face a brown-haired young man wearing a funnel on his head. "Uh, can I help you, sir?"

"You know Eda, right?" Sly asked. "I'm a friend of hers."

"Wait, you mean that raccoon I've been hearing on the news?" the man asked before eagerly shaking Sly's hand. "It's a pleasure to see you in person! Name's Morton!"

"Nice to meet you too." Sly responded. "I hear you've been getting elixirs for Eda for years, and I hope that maybe you could do the same for my crew and me."

"You bet." Morton said. "If you ever need anything from me, you know what to do."

"All done, Sly, come on up!" Bentley exclaimed from the rooftops, causing Sly to climb up to find the turtle with a modified Hexside uniform. "With my adjustments, you'll be able to perform magic like the rest of them, even though you don't have a magic bile sac."

"Thanks, Bentley." Sly said gratefully before putting the uniform on again. "One question, what's a bile sac?"

"It's the biological source of a witch's magic." Bentley explained, presenting a diagram of a heart with a strange green bulb attached to it. "If this visual aid couldn't tell you, magic literally comes from the heart here."

"Clever." Sly chuckled at the wordplay. "Well, I'm off."

"One more thing." Bentley stopped the thief before handing him an apple. "Place this apple on the first desk you find. It's a listening bug that'll allow everyone back at the house to spy on the school."

"An apple for the teacher, nice." Sly grinned, putting the bugged apple in his backpack and running off.

JOB COMPLETE

"Bentley, come in Bentley!" Lilith called to Bentley through the binocucom. "We've heard one of the Syndicate is in town. Return to base immediately to avoid detection."

"On my way Lilith." Bentley obeyed before spinning his wheelchair around and hovering away, just as Archer marched through the streets searching for any intruders.

"Hey potion boy, see any suspicious activity around here?" Archer asked Morton, hopping up on the counter and grabbing the potionist by the neck.

"No, sir, it's just business as usual here." Morton nervously said, trying to hide his encounter with Sly from the violent witch. "Please don't hurt me."

"Okay, I'll let you live." Archer said before he tossed Morton away and hopped off the counter to continue making his rounds. But the handyman still had a sneaking suspicion that the elixir salesman was hiding something from him.

Job: School Reconnaissance

Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, 8:50 am

After some combing through the woods surrounding the school, Sly had arrived at the Hexside School of Magic and Demonics. It was just as massive and mysterious as he imagined, looking more like a castle than a schoolhouse. Almost like the magic schools he's seen in books and movies.

"Well, here we are, Bentley." Sly declared, gazing at the building in awe. "You feeling nostalgic?"

"I certainly am!" Murray exclaimed over Sly's earbud. "So, what, are we just gonna waltz in through the front door?"

"Not quite." Eda answered the hippo. "I got a whole labyrinth of secret passages hidden all over the school, and I think one of them should be hidden behind one of the bushes."

"Secret passages? Sounds like my kind of school!" Sly exclaimed as he searched for the bush that would lead him to the labyrinth. Eventually, he discovered a small door with a keyhole under the knob that seemed to blend right into the foundations and crawled through it.

"Thanks, Eda, this should be perfect for reconnaissance." Sly thanked Eda for her assistance while looking around at the countless doors surrounding him. "This is like a thief's paradise!"

"I get your excitement Sly, but don't get too cocky." Bentley warned his partner. "Should you ever get caught, there's a good chance you'll get chucked into the detention pit."

"I'm sorry, the what?" Sly stuttered in alarm.

"Just open the door that looks like a porthole." Lilith advised Sly, who opened the exact door Lilith was talking about and discovered a red-clad student getting dragged away by a guard with an upside-down skull for a head.

"No, please, I'm innocent, I've been set up!" the student begged for mercy while the guard hauled him to a massive door that looked like it had three eyes. "Just give me another chance!" The guard gave no answer, and when the door came alive and bared its spiky teeth, the student was tossed into the darkness within. "NOOOOOOO!"

"Ay ay ay, talk about Orwellian." Carmelita commented fearfully before the guard turned its head, as if it managed to detect Sly from his hiding spot.

"Seems like they're making good progress getting the pit fixed." Eda added.

"Trouble." The guard muttered eerily, but Sly quickly shut the door before he could be found out.

"Yeah, this place has some really tight security." Sly declared.

"Did you hear that student beg for mercy?!" Murray roared in disbelief. "Someone's gotta teach these kids to behave the right way! Like me, for example, I can be a good role model."

"Good to know you're so optimistic, Murray." Lilith said to the hippo. "Sly, use these passageways to gather as much intel on the coven tracks as you can. If you get caught, try your best to pass yourself off as a student."

"Roger that." Sly nodded. "And who knows? Since there's no doubt the students will be talking about me, maybe I should try changing myself some more. Like maybe…."

"Sly, are you going to do what I think you're going to do?!" Bentley exclaimed angrily.

"My signature…." Sly continued with a goofy grin on his face.

"Oh no," Bentley yelled. "NOT-"

"Italian accent-a!" Sly declared in the worst Italian accent he could muster up, much to Bentley's fury.

"SLY, YOU IDIOT, YOU'RE GONNA GET DETENTION FOR AN ACCENT THAT ABHORRENT!" Bentley shrieked.

"Ah, lighten up, Bentley. Who doesn't love a bad accent?" Eda cackled loudly.

"Seriously, who even talks like that?" King agreed with a giggle just as loud.

"Consider this payback for revealing my emo phase earlier." Sly smirked in his normal voice before he decided to open the first door he spotted. In front of him were students dressed in yellow, working with potions under the guidance of a bird-like instructor. "This must be the potions coven." Sly muttered before taking a picture.

"That was the track me and Lily were on." Eda commented as Sly closed the door behind him. "Hey, you remember Mixzela?"

"I remember how you two tried to replace one teacher's coffee with a sleeping potion to get out of a test, only for Mixzela to try and poison her." Lilith replied. "She never did recover from that explosion."

The next door Sly came across led him to a classroom where students made beings that looked like the Abomaton that Kikimora used, only without any armor or mechanical enhancements. "Hey, aren't those Abomatons?"

"Abominations, to be precise Sly." Bentley corrected as Sly took another photo and closed the door. "They're basically homunculi that you can conjure up to perform various tasks, whether basic chores or even fighting battles for you. Which reminds me, I should still investigate the Blights and their creation of those Abomatons."

The next door Sly found was one leading to a big greenhouse where plants seemed to grow higher than he could imagine. "Let me guess, plants, right?"

"Bingo." Bentley responded. "And it seems these plants can be used as force as well." As Bentley predicted, one plant suddenly came to life and began chasing after the student who grew it from the pot. "I'd stay away from that if I were you."

Sly continued opening doors and taking pictures of the various rooms he could find beyond them, opening his eyes to so many kinds of magic to use. One form of magic allowed its user to form constructs from the earth itself. Another seemed to be used for medical purposes. Music could also be used in various ways, as did illusions, telepathy, and taming animals. The possibilities began racing through the thief's mind as he gathered the intel the Cooper Gang needed with help from Eda's secret passages until he felt satisfied enough with his photos.

"Okay, guys, I got the photos." Sly declared as he climbed out of a door into a hallway. "Now what do I do?"

"Maybe try to squeeze yourself into one of these tracks to better fit in." King suggested just as Sly began hearing footsteps. "In fact, I think I hear someone."

"Stand cool, dude; I think that's school's big cheese!" Dimitri exclaimed when Sly turned around to discover the older man from the pamphlets.

"Hello there, young man." The principal greeted Sly rather intimidatingly. "May I help you?"

"Uh, Graziano?" Sly replied in his Italian accent before one of the guards hauled him away, not noticing the fake student accidentally dropping his cane.

"Oh dear, Sly's in trouble!" Bentley began panicking.

"Don't be such a worrywart Bents." Eda assured the paralyzed turtle. "Sly's gonna be in good hands."

JOB COMPLETE

Job: Meet Kevin Miller

Sly was dropped into the principal's office and sat down in a chair across from his desk, where he would now meet the principal face to face.

"Hello there, principal-a." Sly greeted, still with the Italian accent. "Lovely day we're having, no?"

"Yes, it's a nice day at the moment, but let's get on subject." The principal stated. "What were you doing in our school?"

"Oh, me? I'm a transfer from-a Glandus." Sly fibbed to keep up his image as a new student. "Call me, uh, Kevin Miller. Yeah, that's-a my name."

"Kevin Miller. Foreigner, I presume." The principal replied, stroking his chin. "Good to see someone realized what they were missing at Glandus. Anyways, I am Hieronymous Bump, and I shall be your principal. Normally, we'd have an entrance exam, but since you arrived so suddenly, I guess we'll have to skip straight to selecting your coven track."

"So, I get to choose; I'm not told where to go by-a a hat?" Sly commented, reclining in his chair and looking up at the banners above them.

"Oh no, we had a hat a long time ago." Principal Bump proclaimed. "It just had a bit of a taste for mortal flesh."

Looking around at the banners, Sly was interested in learning all of them like Luz did, but he also feared that more than one multi-track student would raise suspicion. So, he decided to make his choice. "I think I'll pick-a illusions. I-a do like-a tricking people."

"Excellent choice Mr. Miller." Bump nodded. "You know, there is also the option to learn more than one track. It's a recent development, but it's also become quite popular among the student body."

"Oh, I get to choose more than-a one?" Sly wondered, his worries seemingly alleviated as he examined the other possible choices. "I dunno, maybe-a potions?"

"Another good choice." The principal declared, and Sly's sleeves and legs turned a light blue and yellow with a wave of Bump's finger, signifying his chosen tracks.

"Grazie, my principal, I promise to be on my best behavior!" Sly thanked Bump before presenting the bugged apple and placing it on the desk. "Here, my friend, an apple on me!"

"My, you're quite a gentleman." Hieronymous chuckled. "Have a good rest of your day Mr. Miller." However, as Sly was about to leave, Bump's warm smile quickly turned foreboding. "But that doesn't mean I won't be keeping an eye on you."

The principal's door shut behind Sly, giving the new student free rein to brag about his accomplishment to everyone at the Owl House. "Well, that went easier than I expected. I mean, he bought my act hook, line, and sinker!"

"Ol' Bumpy has been getting softer since Luz enrolled. It's because of her that students are going multi-track." Eda agreed. "Makes me happy Faust retired. He would've torn you to shreds."

"And good work on remembering the apple too." Bentley declared. "Now we can listen in on anything Bump might say so that you can fetch the yearbook later. Now onto the hard part."

"Yep, blending in." Sly nodded. "This is gonna be high school all over again."

JOB COMPLETE

But what Sly didn't realize as he began roaming the halls of Hexside, he was being watched by a spy drone that possessed far more advanced technology than what was common on the Boiling Isles, and it bore Penelope's emblem over the Emperor's Coven symbol.

The Emperor's Castle, 9:15 am

"So, he's attending Hexside now?" Penelope wondered as she spied on Sly at the school. "Frankly, he seems a little too old for school anymore. Unless he has ulterior motives." Turning away from the screen showing her what the drone saw, Penelope began calling for assistance. "Hunter!"

Out of the shadows, a young blonde man dressed in a white & gold uniform who looked a little older than Luz emerged and faced Penelope with a scowl. "You needed me, Penny?"

"First off, don't call me that." Penelope commanded Hunter. "And second, the raccoon is on the move at Hexside. I want you to survey the area and terminate him once absolutely necessary. Are we clear?"

"You sure about this guy?" Hunter said smugly, pointing a thumb at Sly's image. "Seems like an awful lot of work for just one intruder."

"Are you going to keep disobeying your superior, or will I have to tell your uncle about little Flapjack?" Penelope threatened the boy, causing a little cardinal with a scar over its left eye to emerge from Hunter's uniform.

"You wouldn't." Hunter growled angrily at the mouse, protectively holding the bird in his hands.

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't, brat." Penelope hissed back, making the boy turn red with fury, when an ominous voice broke the tension between them.

"Anything the matter, children?" Belos purred as he strolled into the room, taking Penelope & Hunter by surprise as they frantically stood at attention, and Hunter hid Flapjack from his uncle's gaze.

"Nothing, your grace." The pair replied, bowing before the emperor while sneaking glares at each other.

"Your highness, my drone has detected Sly Cooper hiding out at Hexside." Penelope revealed to the ruler of the Boiling Isles. "I've already given the Golden Guard his mission to hunt that thief down."

"Excellent, Penelope." Belos nodded appreciatively before turning to Hunter. "And you are dismissed."

"Yes, uncle." Hunter obeyed and put on a golden mask that he pulled a white hood over, assuming his identity as the Golden Guard before leaving the room.

"Penelope, please walk with me for a bit." Belos offered the mouse, putting a hand on her shoulder and leading her into the castle halls. "How are you enjoying the Isles so far, my dear?"

"Not having a good time, your majesty." Penelope answered morosely. "Outside of you and Kikimora, to an extent, no one here likes me."

"That's because they're afraid of you, little one." Belos declared. "They're afraid of the power your mind holds, of its destructive potential. They simply can't understand geniuses like you, child."

"Kind of like how Sly didn't understand how he was holding me back." Penelope added. "He just didn't get it, Bentley and I could've been the most powerful couple in the world, but he forces us to do his dirty work as criminals!"

"Ah yes, that Bentley fellow." Belos commented. "Don't you worry, once Sly and his allies are in our grasp, we'll make sure to have Bentley delivered straight to you, so he can watch as his friends are petri-" Before the emperor could finish, he began dropping to his knees while twitching uncontrollably. "Oh, what now?! Not again!"

"It's your illness, my lord; I'll fetch you a Palisman!" Penelope exclaimed frightfully, and she ran off just as Belos began painfully shapeshifting into a hideous sludge-like beast whose form could be deemed indescribable to the common man. Though she was given a scare when returning with a raccoon-like Palisman, Penelope bravely stepped forward and handed the familiar over to her emperor, who mustered enough strength to break the Palisman into pieces and absorbed the essence within.

"Your assistance is most appreciated, my dear." Belos wheezed as he returned to his senses and stood back up, revealing that his mask had fallen off, and beneath it was an elderly man with ash-blonde hair, blue eyes, and a green scar stretching across his face. "The Titan will be very pleased with your efforts."

"Anytime, Phillip." Penelope bowed to her emperor.

Far from Penelope and Belos, two dark-skinned witches stood face to face in a dark room, examining a newspaper revealing Sly's existence to the Boiling Isles. Their expressions showed varying degrees of concern, but the witch that looked to have an Abomination for hair was quite fascinated with the thief. "So, this Sly Cooper has been making a real name for himself." He grinned. "I quite like his style. He'd make a fine addition to the rebellion."

"I agree Darius, but it's too risky." The other witch with mint green hair and glasses objected to their comrade's idea. "He's already a wanted criminal, so that could attract too much attention towards us. Have you seen the bounty Penelope put on him?" They then presented a wanted poster calling for Sly's head, promising one million snails to whoever captures him.

"Are you sure you don't want to attract attention, or are you afraid Eda will get jealous?" Darius smirked cheekily, making his fellow rebel blush just as the two heard a knock on the door. "That must be Eber. Care to let them in, Raine?"

Raine opened the door to allow an orange-furred creature with yellow and red eyes into the room. "Got anything, Eberwolf?" Eberwolf leaped onto Raine's shoulder and whispered into their ear, which Raine translated for Darius. "They say Sly is on the move. Penelope's found him at Hexside and has already sent the Golden Guard after him."

"Hexside?" Darius repeated incredulously. "What could he possibly want there?"

"Anything the matter, head witches?" Penelope asked as she opened the door, taking the three rebels by surprise as they tried to act natural.

"Nothing, Lady Penelope." Raine answered, trying their hardest to hide their disdain towards the mouse.

"Okay then." Penelope replied before she walked away. As soon as they were out of her earshot, the three witches started talking again.

"I swear, that mouse keeps getting her nose in everything." Darius complained. "If we're not careful, this whole operation could be unraveled, and we're all as good as petrified!" Eberwolf opened their mouth to reveal their fangs in response, which the head witch of the Abomination coven understood. "No, we're not going to eat her, as much as I would rather have her dead and buried!"

"Guess we'll have to lay low for a while." Raine concluded. "She has eyes all over the Isles thanks to those drones, so it's a safe bet she'll be watching us too."

As the three witches parted ways, Raine picked up the newspaper and gave one last look at the silhouette of Sly that dominated the front page. "Heh, this guy does kinda seem like Eda."

Job: Ciao Kevin Miller

Hexside School of Magic and Demonics, 9:20 am

Back at Hexside, Sly, or Kevin Miller as the school will soon know him, tried his best to disappear into the crowds as he continued walking through the hallways while students conversed with one another as they transitioned between classes. Though he tried his best to act like an ordinary teenage witch, even with the horrendous Italian accent, Sly still was concerned that someone would point out how old he looked compared to everyone else.

Sly found a three-eyed, pink-skinned witch whose uniform indicated she was on the potion track like he was talking with her friends and walked on over to them to try and blend in. "Hello, how do you do, fellow children?"

"Uh, hello, can we help you?" the pink witch asked nervously. "And what's with the stupid voice?"

"See, she agrees with me!" Bentley yelled over the earbud.

"It's not-a stupid. I'm an immigrant from the Groin!" Sly said defensively, coming up with the first body part that came to mind. "My name is-a Kevin Miller, I'm on the same track as you. Hope we-a can become friends."

"Is it me, or does he look a little too old to be coming here?" one of the pink witch's friends whispered to the other, making Sly yip in surprise that he may be found out. So, he tried to change the subject instead.

"Hey, that-a third eye of yours." Sly pointed out his potions classmate's third eye on her forehead. "Does it-a make you psychic?"

"What?!" the three-eyed witch yelled angrily.

"Way to make a good first impression, bro." Dimitri snarked as Sly was pinned against the wall for his insensitive comment.

"Listen, pal, my third eye doesn't make me psychic, but it does tell me when someone is insulting me!" the three-eyed witch snarled in Sly's face. "I suggest you watch your back if you know what's good for you!"

"I'm sure he didn't mean it, Boscha. Now just chillax, and let's go." Boscha's other friend tried calming Boscha down and taking her away from Sly.

"Boy, someone's in a bad mood-a." Sly deadpanned while Boscha continued glaring at him as she walked off with her posse.

"I get you wanted to act natural so no one could figure you out, but it would've helped if you sounded less rude." Carmelita scolded Sly.

"Cut me some slack; I haven't gotten the chance to work on my social skills lately." Sly argued with his girlfriend.

"Eh, leave him, Carms." Eda stated with a shrug. "That girl kinda had it coming for always picking on Luz and her pals."

"That Boscha could really use a few lessons in niceness." Murray added. "Maybe the Murray could be a gentle, guiding hand for her to hold."

"That would be interesting to watch." Sly chuckled just as he heard a dog bark. Turning around, Sly discovered a little dog-like creature with a pair of glasses and purple & yellow sleeves on his front legs. "Hey, little guy, you lost? Nice outfit, by the way."

The dog gave Sly another bark, which a skinny boy dressed in green and pink translated for him. "Barcus says, "You're mocking me, aren't you?" he said while walking with a blue and orange-clad girl with a fish-hook earring. "Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Yes, it's-a me, Kevin Miller!" Sly joyfully greeted the trio in his fake accent. "Ah, so glad to see some-a fellow multi-trackers here. I was-a going to stick with just illusions-a, but the good principal told-a me all about how popular it's-a becoming!"

"What's with that funny accent?" the girl whispered to her friend.

"Hey, who you callin' funny-sounding?" Sly said to the girl. "No need to-a prey on the new kid-a."

"Hey, I didn't mean it like that, it's just that you sound so ridiculous." The girl assured Sly. "Name's Viney. This is Jerbo, and I think you already know about Barcus."

"So-a he has a name?" Sly wondered, looking down at Barcus, who gave another yip. "What's he-a saying now?"

"Barcus hopes to see you in one of his potions classes, since you guys are on the same track." Jerbo translated for the dog-like witch.

"Oh, the pleasure is all-a mine, kids, but I've got-a other business to attend to." Sly replied before he spotted Luz with three other witches her age passing by him, Viney, Jerbo, and Barcus. "Bentley, I found Luz!" he spoke into his earpiece.

"Good, try and follow her to whatever class she has next." Bentley ordered Sly, who began tailing the four witches.

"Hey, hate to-a cut and-a run, but I got someone to talk to." Sly apologized to the trio as he left. "Laters!"

"So I said, "why the long face?" Get it, because horses have long faces?" Luz told a joke to her three friends while Sly followed them, but the friends didn't seem amused at it.

"Gonna be real with you, Luz," one of Luz's friends, a dark-skinned boy on the illusion track, admitted. "I don't think I get it."

"Yeah, like, why does a horse have such a long face, exactly?" a chubby witch with Asian features, dark gray-blue hair, olive-green eyes behind a pair of glasses, and a green uniform agreed.

"Well, I still found it pretty funny." A third girl in pink with short lilac hair with hints of brown smiled at Luz.

"Yeah, at least you tried, kiddo." Sly agreed with the girl, causing Luz to turn around in surprise and smile at her big raccoon friend behind her.

"Sly!" Luz cried in delight and gave Sly a big hug while the other three kids stared at him in shock.

"What? Who's-a Sly? My name is-a Kevin Miller!" Sly fibbed in his Italian accent to prevent anyone from getting suspicious. "You must-a be talking crazy!"

"Come on, you're a bit of a celebrity here now." Luz assured Sly before turning over to her friends. "Amity, Willow, Gus, I'd like you to meet Sly Cooper."

"No way, the thief from the news?!" Gus gasped in amazement. "I never guessed you were, like, an actual raccoon man. Wait, did humans go extinct, and animals become the supreme rulers of the world in their place?"

GUS PORTER. THE HUMAN ENTHUSIAST.

"How did you get here?" Willow asked. "Is there another portal to the human world that we don't know about?"

WILLOW PARK. THE GARDENER.

"What are you doing here at Hexside?" Amity added.

AMITY BLIGHT. THE GIRLFRIEND.

"Hey, I've heard of you. You're the awesome girlfriend, right?" Sly asked Amity. "Luz told me about you."

"Yep, that's me." Amity replied while holding Luz close.

"So, what made you wanna dress up like a Hexside student, Sly?" Luz asked the thief.

"I'm actually trying to get info on the Wild Witch Syndicate here." Sly stated. "We could've had Eda or Lilith dig up a yearbook, but this is just way more fun."

"I see you're in the illusions track with me." Gus commented on Sly's uniform colors. "Can you show me what you got?"

"Well, I can't really perform magic like some of you guys, but my friend made some modifications to the uniform to help me fake it." Sly explained to Gus. "Just watch." Pressing a few buttons on his sleeve, Sly drew a circle with a hidden flashlight and made a holographic version of himself appear from thin air. "See what I mean?"

"Whoa!" the kids gasped in wonder.

"You think that's cool?" Sly declared while reaching behind his back. "Then have a look at…." However, instead of his cane, Sly found himself grabbing at nothing. "At…"

"Wait, something is missing." Luz began to conclude.

"Oh no, I lost my cane!" Sly exclaimed in fright at the loss of his prized family heirloom. It could be anywhere in the school, in the hands of another student, a faculty member, or maybe even stuck in the trash somewhere. He had to get it back and quick. "I must've dropped it when Bump caught me!"

"Wait, you lost your cane?!" Bentley yelled from Sly's earpiece. "This is bad, who knows where it could be now!"

"You mean this cane?" Willow asked, pulling out a newspaper depicting a silhouette of Sly and his cane against the moonlight.

"Yeah, it's super important to him and his family!" Luz replied. "We'll help you find it, Sly. Where did you last see it?"

"I was spying on all the classrooms using all these secret passages that Eda carved out in the school, and I think I remember getting out of one from the lockers." Sly explained. "We need to search the whole school."

"We're right behind you, Sly!" Luz exclaimed. "Amity, Willow, Gus, you're coming with!"

"Hey, any friend of Luz is a friend of ours!" Gus replied as the thief and the students began searching the school.

Meanwhile, in the exact hall where Sly dropped his cane after being found by the principal, the Golden Guard suddenly appeared in a flash of red light, where he discovered the cane at his feet and picked it up. "Hm, a Palisman?"

"Hey, get away from my cane!" Sly yelled at the Guard as he, Luz, Amity, Willow, and Gus cornered him. "Listen, pal. We don't have to fight like this. Just hand it back to me, and I won't have to kick your butt."

"This?" the Guard taunted while presenting the cane in his hand. "I've been told this is very important to you, Sly. But what could it possibly be?" Out of curiosity, the masked man began tugging at the golden crook at the end of the cane, further enraging Sly.

"Listen, Hunter, just give it back." Luz warned the Golden Guard. "Please, that cane is incredibly valuable to Sly's family. You have no idea what you're doing to him."

"What could I possibly do to him with this mere trinket?" Hunter coldly said, only to be proven wrong when Sly let his anger take the wheel, and he furiously tackled Hunter with a roar, causing the cane to fly out of the Guard's hands.

"Someone grab it!" Sly yelled while his trusted weapon soared through the air when suddenly, Barcus leaped up and grabbed it between his teeth like someone was playing fetch with him. "Barcus!"

"Kevin, is that you?!" Jerbo exclaimed as he, Viney, and some other students of Hexside gathered to discover what was happening.

"So the accent was fake!" Viney added in surprise.

"Yo, is that Sly Cooper?!" one student dressed in brown asked.

"Yeah, I think it is!" a purple-clad student with a moon-shaped head replied.

"Well, it looks like the secret is out." Sly sighed in defeat as he got up. "Yep, it's me, everyone."

"Requesting backup, the Cooper's mad!" Hunter ordered into a phone shaped like a crow with his back to Sly.

"Guys, I got my cane back, but we got company!" Sly spoke into his earpiece. "Looks like the Emperor's Coven found us out."

"Aw farts, I should've known they'd still be watching us." Eda groaned frustratedly. "Hang tight, ringtail, we're coming for you!"

"I don't think so." Hunter ominously declared before he brandished his staff and clashed it with Sly's cane, prompting everyone around them to start chanting as Principal Bump arrived on the scene.

"FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT!"

"Okay, who's fighting now?" Bump sardonically declared while squeezing his way into the growing crowd of young witches.

"Kevin Miller was Sly Cooper!" a female student in red cheered.

"What?!" Bump gasped at the fight before him and pulled out the newspaper confirming Sly's existence. "I should've known that accent was fake! What's he doing disguised as a student?!"

"I'll explain later, sir!" Sly hurriedly assured his fake principal as he continued fighting the Golden Guard. Suddenly, the red gem at the end of Sly's opponent's staff began to glow, causing the two to disappear in a flash of red and leaving their audience stunned at their sudden departure. For all the students and Principal Bump knew, Sly and the Golden Guard could be anywhere now.

Hexside Rooftops

In another flash of red, Sly and Hunter were suddenly facing off on the roofs of the school, cane still hooked onto staff before the Guard let out a blast that freed him from the raccoon's grasp and made Sly stumble back a bit. "Allow me to ask you a question, Sly Cooper. Why are you infiltrating Hexside?"

"I'm looking for information on the Wild Witch Syndicate, since I've heard some of their ranks attended this school." Sly revealed to Hunter while fighting back laughter. "Also, is your name seriously Hunter? What are you, some wannabe edgelord?"

"This edgelord is the right-hand man to my uncle, the emperor." Hunter declared boldly as he pointed his staff at Sly. "I've been sent here under his and Lady Penelope's orders to investigate your operation and bring you in. So, any last words before my men take you away?"

"Yeah, I got a question of my own." Sly grinned. "Ever hear of the Murray?"

As if right on cue, the Cooper Gang's van barreled through the front gates of Hexside and skidded to a halt in front of the school, just as a blimp carrying some Coven Scouts happened to park right next to them.

"How were they able to find us out?!" Lilith yelled as the gang stepped out of the van to face the Coven Scouts.

"I don't know; maybe they had a spy or something?" King suggested while hanging on Murray's back.

"We had a drone show us everything." One of the scouts said. "Courtesy of the emperor's new ally Penelope."

"Of course." Carmelita facepalmed before she pointed her shock pistol at the scouts. "Hands where I can see them, masked marauders!"

"The thief's accomplices." The leader of the scouts stated before brandishing his spear. "You have no right to arrest us like common crooks, fox! Now lay down your arms and surrender!"

"No one tells the Murray to surrender and survives!" Murray bellowed as he charged at the guards and began thrashing them, their masked faces only seeing the hippo's pink fists.

"RESTRAIN THE HIPPO, HE'S DERANGED!" another one of the scouts hollered as they tried their best to incapacitate Murray, but some were just too occupied with the rest of the gang while the students huddled at the windows to watch the action.

"Hey, is that Eda and the Cooper Gang?" Luz wondered while spectating her mentor fighting the scouts. "I have to help them!" Racing outside with glyphs in hand, Luz slapped a plant glyph on the ground that spawned vines to tangle the scouts with.

"Thanks for the save!" Eda congratulated Luz before she looked up at the fight between Sly and the Golden Guard. "So, who's gonna go up and help him out?"

"I'll go." Carmelita declared. "Someone lift me up."

"Here, miss." Jerbo offered while the students crowded outside, and he summoned an Abomination to pick the inspector up. "Abomination, throw!"

"I'm sorry, what?" Carmelita stuttered in alarm, but she didn't have time to regret asking before the Abomination tossed her up to the roofs. Luckily, Sly was able to catch her just in time. "Sly!"

"My my, looks like I'm your knight in shining armor once again." Sly declared with a flirty eyebrow raise while gazing at the officer in his arms.

"Just put me down and let me help you against him." Carmelita ordered her boyfriend.

"Ah, Carmelita Fox, I presume." Hunter analyzed as Sly put Carmelita down. "I have sources that told me how often you allied with the wrong side of the law for their own ends." He shook his head in shame and disbelief. "A true pity, really. A mockery of law enforcement if I ever saw one."

"One more word, or you'll be getting a couple dozen volts to the face behind that mask of yours." Carmelita growled threateningly while pointing her shock pistol at the Guard's face. "We often ally to face a common threat, and your boss is no different!"

"Whoa, Foxy, save some for me!" Sly exclaimed while preparing his cane for another fight. However, Hunter quickly vanished into red particles and reappeared to try and attack Sly with his staff, only for Sly to disappear as well. He had replaced himself with a hologram using Bentley's projectors in his Hexside uniform, and the real Sly clashed weapons with Hunter.

"How?!" Hunter exclaimed as he fought off Sly and Carmelita at the same time.

"Let's just say I have a friend." Sly grinned. "Carmelita, now! While I got him distracted!"

"On it!" Carmelita exclaimed and pulled the trigger on her pistol, firing a lightning bolt that knocked the Golden Guard's staff out of his hands.

"Oh no!" Hunter yelled as the staff fell too far for him to reach. Although neither Sly nor Carmelita could tell because of his mask, the guard realized he had no other choice. "You know, this reminds me. I have a little surprise for you." The masked boy then presented a red cardinal hiding inside his uniform, which he turned into a staff not unlike Owlbert. "My own Palisman. Surprised, huh?"

"Okay, I did not see that coming." Sly commented before he turned to Carmelita. "Luckily, my girl and I have been around Palismen long enough to know what to do."

"You, mostly." Carmelita added. "I only came here yesterday."

Hunter interrupted the exchange by firing magic blasts from his Palisman at the pair, and Carmelita retaliated by firing more paralyzing shots from her shock pistol to keep him occupied while Sly tried to subdue him. Once again, Hunter used his staff to teleport, and it collided with Sly's cane for a second time.

"Try and catch me!" Sly yelled excitedly, causing multiple holographic copies of himself to appear out of his sleeve to disorient Hunter. While the holograms circled Hunter, he tried flying away from them to gain a better view of the battlefield so he could tell which one was real, but as it turned out, the real raccoon was grabbing onto the end of his staff.

"You!" Hunter yelled in shock.

"This is for nearly breaking my cane." Sly growled before he punched Hunter in the face, sending the boy falling face-first onto the roof and breaking his mask. As it crumbled apart, Sly and Carmelita soon realized that the emperor's stooge they just faced seemed younger than they thought. "Whoa, he looks like he could've been friends with Luz."

"He seemed powerful enough to be top dog of Hexside." Carmelita added. With the battle won, Sly hoisted the Golden Guard's body over his head and presented it to his fake classmates, and they began chanting his phony name to celebrate his victory.

"KEVIN, KEVIN, KEVIN, KEVIN!"

"Why Kevin Miller?" Carmelita asked as she turned to Sly.

"I dunno, just seemed funny in my head." Sly shrugged. "Now, how are we going to get down?"

"Allow me!" Willow exclaimed as she conjured up a beanstalk for the pair to climb down to meet everyone else.

JOB COMPLETE

As Sly and Carmelita returned to solid ground with the defeated Golden Guard in tow, students began overwhelming Sly in excitement, barraging him with questions about where he came from, what his family was like, what his cane was made of, and more. Despite the mob surrounding him, Sly eventually found enough room to toss Hunter over to the coven scouts. "Hey scouts, I think you lost this!"

Tossing Hunter at the scouts' feet, Sly watched as they realized that the thief was more dangerous than they thought and began scrambling to escape. "RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY! RUN AWAY!"

"Lilith." Hunter groaned, turning his head to face his former comrade while the scouts carried him back to their blimp.

"Hunter." Lilith responded just as venomously. "How does it feel to be bested, brat?"

"I have to say; Sly did pretty good out there." Hunter responded before turning to the raccoon man. "But know this, next time we meet, I will want a rematch."

"I'll be seeing you." Sly smirked at the guard as the blimp took off with the cowardly scouts in tow, before looking down at his cane. "Can't believe he'd sink that low."

"Mr. Miller, or rather, Sly Cooper?" Principal Bump called for Sly in a rather ominous fashion while standing among the schoolchildren. "Allow me to ask you again. What made you want to disguise yourself as a student?"

"Uh, Bump, was it?" Bentley said, wheeling up to the principal. "First off, hi, the name's Bentley. I'm with Sly and Luz. And second, we came here because we're on the hunt for a yearbook that might help us learn more about a criminal syndicate we've heard about."

"Well, why didn't you just walk up and ask?" Bump grinned in realization.

"I mean, where's the fun in that?" Sly declared while Viney walked up and healed his wounds. "So, you willing to hand it over?"

"I shall." Bump nodded. "But on the condition that you are never to attend this school as a student again. Understand?"

"Fair enough. I'm too old for this place anyways." Sly commented before turning to Luz. "Well, kid, looks like we're almost there!"

"Finally!" Luz cheered as the principal began leading the gang to his office.

"Oh, and by the way." Bump stopped for a moment and presented the bugged apple to Sly. "Here's the apple you gave me. I tried taking a bite out of it, and now I think I need my stomach pumped."

The Emperor's Castle, 9:50 am

"Oh, poor Hunter." A massive creature dressed similarly to a plague doctor shook his head in disgust while he and Penelope watched a news reporter discuss the events at Hexside on a crystal ball. "He should've realized what he was in for once you sent him out against the thief."

"That was my point, Warden Wrath, to give the boy that slice of humble pie he's been deserving for ages." Penelope revealed. "That arrogant little boy thinks that he gets special treatment because he's the emperor's nephew over everyone else."

"Hey, aren't you kinda getting special treatment too?" Warden Wrath asked. "You kept buttering his majesty up about how you needed someone who could realize your full potential or something like that."

"Did I ask you for your two cents?" Penelope replied curtly as Hunter was wheeled in on a stretcher. "Ah, and here's the boy of the hour. I saw what happened on the news."

"Oh, laugh it up Penny." Hunter snarled angrily as he took off his mask and sat up to glare at the mouse. "Let me guess. Was this another way to humiliate me in front of him?"

"Maybe, or maybe not." Penelope responded smugly.

"I can see why Bentley broke up with you." Hunter frowned, causing the mouse to snap before grabbing the boy and wringing her hands around his neck. "What's the matter?!" he gasped in between chokes. "Mad because I said he deserves better than you?!"

"Just shut your trap for once!" Penelope screamed while strangling the Golden Guard. "I can see why Lilith hated you so much! Beneath that mask, you're just a bratty little runt who thinks everything has to be about him!"

"Lady Penelope, control yourself!" Warden Wrath tried splitting the bickering duo up, but Penelope's grip on Hunter's neck got even tighter despite the warden's efforts.

"Anything the matter here?" Belos icily asked as he strolled into the dark room, scaring Penelope into letting go of his nephew and kneeling in reverence of the emperor.

"Pardon my tone, my liege, but maybe you should stop entering like that." Wrath suggested to his superior. "Anyways, I suppose you heard of Hunter's failure at Hexside?"

"I indeed have, and I will make sure he is punished accordingly." Belos replied, sending shivers down the Guard's spine while Penelope grinned eagerly at her rival's expense. "And as for you, Penelope, I have a special task for you now."

"What do you request, my lord?" Penelope asked as the emperor presented footage gathered by her drone of Bentley, Murray, Eda, Lilith, Dimitri, Carmelita, and King.

"I want you to gather the Syndicate at once. I fear the raccoon and his allies are onto them." Belos declared. "Inform them of everyone who has participated in the raid and send them to their respective tasks for Operation: Ticking Clock."

"You have my word." Penelope obliged before turning to the warden. "You, bring Hunter over to Medico so he may be in fighting shape for his uncle."

"Understood." Wrath nodded in compliance as he wheeled the stretcher away, with Hunter giving Penelope one last angry look before he disappeared.

'So after all the trouble we went through, good ol' Bumpikins decided to hand over the yearbook we wanted.' Eda narrated as her former principal presented the yearbook to the gang, and Sly took it from his hands. 'Now we can finally hunt down the first three members of the Wild Witch Syndicate, aka some old schoolmates of Lilith and I.'

'Once we returned to the Owl House, we started flipping through all the students per each coven track during Eda and Lilith's era. Indeed, the sisters were able to recognize them immediately.' Sly continued for Eda back at the Owl House while the gang examined the yearbook. Right off the bat, Eda was able to identify a fellow potions student who had a pair of green-tinted goggles over her eyes and a pair of fangs in her teeth. 'All the more easier to take these three down. But of course, we could use a little help.'

Just then, Luz had returned home from school, accompanied by Willow, Gus, and Amity so they could properly meet the rest of Sly's gang. 'Her friends happen to be on the same coven tracks that some of the wild witches represent, and I'd be happy to find any help we can get.'

'Still, that Hunter kid though.' Sly began musing on his battle with the Golden Guard. 'He may act all smug and arrogant, but judging by what Luz would later tell me, combined with the good look at his face I got, he's just a kid who really couldn't stop making bad choices. And how did he get his hands on a Palisman, too? I'll have to ponder on that later. Right now, the real fun's about to begin.'

The Emperor's Castle, 3:05 pm

Meanwhile, back at the Emperor's castle, the Wild Witch Syndicate had finally assembled under Penelope's orders, each member to be sponsored by the head witches of the nine covens.

Oozan was the first to arrive as he met with Darius and put his abomination arm on the head witch's shoulder. "Ah, Darius old bear, it's been too long!"

"I see you've recovered nicely from losing your arm." Darius commented while brushing Oozan's arm away. "Never would I see the day I'd ally with a wild witch."

"Then how about allying with an old friend?" Oozan suggested.

"ABOMINABLE BOSS" OOZAN SLUDGIOS

BOUNTY: 1,000,000,000 SNAILS

Meanwhile, an orange-skinned mad scientist with purple hair and fangs was busy mixing elixirs with Vitimir, the head of the Potions coven, causing one of them to explode in her face. "Wow, that was wild!"

"MAD SCIENTIST" MIXZELA GLASS

BOUNTY: 2,000,000,000 SNAILS

"Can you please hurry it up? I'm on a tight schedule here!" Adrian Graye Vernsworth, head witch of the Illusions coven, complained as a witch in a sharp blue suit spent what felt like hours trying to make himself look presentable.

"A good politician must always look their best." The other witch declared as he slowly combed his slicked-back hair. "And done!" Jauntily departing from his vanity mirror, the witch marched away with Adrian, unaware that the head witch had noticed something wrong.

"Pardon me, Mirector, but is that a wrinkle on your suit?" Adrian pointed out an errant crease on his charge's attire.

"Don't worry, nothing that illusions can't fix." Mirector declared with an adjustment of his tie before making the wrinkle vanish with a snap of his fingers.

"POLITICIAN" MIRECTOR NARCISSO

BOUNTY: 1,500,000,000 SNAILS

"No, please, I'm begging you! Have mercy!" an unfortunate coven scout screamed in horror as a bug-like monster bit deep into his neck and sucked out his vital fluids. "It wasn't my fault the Golden Guard failed!"

"Your resistance is only making me hungrier!" the voracious beast bellowed as he sucked harder on the scout's neck while an insidious old woman watched with sadistic glee.

"I quite like your style, Seru." Terra Snapdragon, head witch of the Plant coven, smiled evilly.

"HIDEOUS MONSTER" SERU VENYRAP

BOUNTY: 9,000,000,000 SNAILS

"AHAHAHAHA, GET BACK HERE BEAST!" a rugged outdoorsman with a bare, hairy chest covered only by a vest made from the hide of a Slitherbeast and a big beard laughed boisterously as he playfully chased Eberwolf. "I wonder what I could possibly make out of you? Perhaps a nice pair of slippers, or a drink cozy!"

"MIGHTY HUNTER" OGNSTA WHITE

BOUNTY: 4,000,000,000 SNAILS

"You have been such a good boy, Hunter." A voluptuous female witch in revealing blue nurse's scrubs congratulated Hunter on his successful checkup and handed him a lollipop. "Here, for you."

"This isn't laced with poison, right?" Hunter asked nervously while the nurse stood next to Hettie Cutburn, the head witch of the Healing coven.

"You won't know unless you tried it." The nurse replied with a gentle smile, only for it to be quickly replaced with a mischievous grin laced with violent glee. "Besides, when your precious uncle is finished with you, you'll be wishing you were poisoned."

"BACK ALLEY DOCTOR" MEDICO VALENTINE

BOUNTY: 2,500,000,000 SNAILS

"That's right, keep it moving ya idjits!" Archer Edifice loudly commanded a group of coven scouts as they worked tirelessly on a massive mechanical owl. "The emperor wants this freak of nature done ASAP! Any slacking off won't be tolerated!"

However, one of the scouts slipped while carrying some metal pipes, which instantly enraged Archer as he charged at the scout and whaled on him. "DID I PAY YOU TO START SITTING AROUND ON THE JOB?! DID I, DID I?!" Mason, head witch of the Construction coven, just shook his head as he watched the ill-tempered handyman torment the unlucky scout.

"BIG MAN" ARCHER EDIFICE

BOUNTY: 7,000,000,000 SNAILS

"Allegro everyone, allegro!" a tall, handsome witch dressed in red ordered an orchestra he was conducting. "The emperor wants this to be done in time for Coven Day!"

However, a member of the brass section started playing out of tune, much to the conductor's annoyance. "Stop, stop, stop!" he loudly commanded, forcing the music to halt. "Whoever is out of tune, please raise your hand or forever hold your peace."

"Uh, Piper, it's time." Raine announced as they stepped into Piper's quarters to deliver the news.

"Oh, almost forgot." Piper realized before putting down his baton. "Take five, gang! Got some work-related business to do." As Piper left his orchestra to go with Raine, he decided to try and strike up a conversation with the secret rebel. "So Raine, old buddy, old pal, it's been too long! First off, congratulations on stepping in for Scooter and becoming head witch, that old man's time was going to come sooner or later."

"Thank you Piper." Raine blushed at Piper's comment.

"And second, I was so worried sick when you were held hostage by that dastardly Owl Lady!" Piper continued. "I told you once when you left me at St. Epiderm for Hexside, and I'll say it again, I always knew that Edalyn would be a bad influence on you!"

"Y-yeah, she totally had me captured, all right." Raine nervously looked around, trying to hide their true motives from their old classmate. "So, how has the criminal life been for you, Piper?"

"MUSICIAN OF MISCHIEF" PIPER HAMLIN

BOUNTY: 6,000,000,000 SNAILS

Finally, a blue-skinned, genie-like witch meditated while surrounded by scented candles. A ghost covered in bandages hovered above him as the witch kept his three eyes shut, gazing through every possible future in store for the Syndicate, Belos, and the Isles in general. "Ommmmm." He muttered himself while deep in thought. "Ommmmm."

Just then, the head witch of the Oracle coven Osran entered the genie's residence and knocked on the door, snapping his sponsored wild witch from his concentration as he opened his eyes. "I suppose the time has come at last."

"FORTUNE TELLER" TIENHAN RASPUTIN

BOUNTY: 8,000,000,000 SNAILS

The members of the Wild Witch Syndicate soon gathered at Belos's throne room, where they kneeled before the ruler of the Boiling Isles before Kikimora made a speech. "Good day to you, Wild Witch Syndicate. As you may know, Emperor Belos has gathered you all today to assist in Project: Ticking Clock in exchange for amnesty from the Day of Unity." She stated. "However, a growing band of rebels seeks to challenge his rule, some of which come from worlds beyond the one we know." She began handing out stacks of wanted posters to each witch while listing off each member of Sly and Luz's gang.

"The Thievius Raccoonus, Sly Cooper. Wanted for a bounty of 1,500,000,000 snails."

"The Owl Lady's human, Luz Noceda. Wanted for a bounty of 2,000,000,000,000 snails."

"Eda herself. Wanted for her old bounty of 1,000,000,000,000 snails."

"That annoying little "Self-Proclaimed King of Demons", wanted for 50 snails."

"Bentley, epithet "Disabled Genius" with a bounty of 5,000,000,000 snails. Penelope insists that he only be brought alive."

"Murray, or "The Murray" as he insists he is called. His bounty is 2,500,000,000 snails."

"That "Insult to the Law" Carmelita Fox. Bounty: 10,000,000,000 snails."

"Greasy Sweet" Dimitri Lousteau. Wanted for 3,000,000,000 snails."

"And finally, the traitorous head witch Lilith Clawthorne, or "The Raven Maiden" as her poster refers to her. Her bounty shall be 1,500,000,000,000 snails for her alliance with Cooper and turning her back on the emperor."

"So Edalyn's back on his list again, eh?" Sludgios wondered while putting out his cigarette on Eda's poster. "Knew it was only a matter of time."

"Ooh, a human!" Mixzela cheered excitedly. "I wonder what my potions could possibly do to her?"

"Alas, poor Lilith, I knew her well." Mirector mourned the bounty on his classmate's head. "Going from leader of the Emperor's Coven to a common crook just like her sister."

"Ooh, the big pink one is making me a little peckish." Seru commented while licking the tip of his beak with his tongue at Murray's poster. "Someone that large has to have enough nutrients to last me a lifetime!"

"Mercy, I know it's wrong, but now that I've gotten a good look at this fox," Ognsta stated while ogling Carmelita on her poster. "my mouth is watering, and my hanks are hankering!"

"Oh darling, you are such a dog." Medico smirked while showing Ognsta the wanted poster for Dimitri. "Besides, this lizard is giving me ideas for my future experiments."

"Haha, look at this bub in his wheelchair!" Archer laughed at Bentley's poster. "Taking him out should be easy pickings! Just take away his chair, and he'll be screaming, "Someone help! I've fallen, and I can't get up!"

"This little demon would certainly make a good pet." Piper mused at King's poster. "Look at him. He's just an innocent little puppy!"

"This raccoon is sure to be trouble for us." Tienhan gravely informed his fellow witches. "But worry not, I've meditated on every possibility, and his bravado will not last long."

"Please be informed that there's a chance they could gather up more allies." Belos said to the Syndicate. "If any additional members are recruited, we shall give them bounties and send you out after them."

"Yes, sir." The witches obeyed the emperor's orders and began to depart, each with their own agendas but ultimately fulfilling his schemes in exchange for abstaining from the Day of Unity. Sly and Luz could perhaps be faced with some of their deadliest enemies yet.

Later that day, Belos, now sans his mask, stepped into the laboratory where a massive portal-like device with a strange door at the center lay nearly completed next to the metallic chassis of an owl-like creature. It was primarily silver in color, but it has hints of white and gold to indicate its current allegiance. Reaching into his robes, Belos pulled out a mysterious eye with a red lens and an eyebrow attached to the top that he affixed to the body. "There. I hope I haven't kept you waiting, my friend."

The owl didn't give an immediate answer, however. But after a few seconds of waiting, the machine slowly came to life and replied to Belos with a single word.

"Cooper."

Chapter Text

Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood

Chapter 5: Thunder and Blight-Ning

The Owl House, 3:20 pm

"So give it to me straight, did humans really go extinct, and animals took over the world in their place?" Gus eagerly asked Sly in the aftermath of his infiltration of Hexside while Bentley perused the yearbook.

"No, I don't think I ever heard of humans before coming to the Isles and meeting Luz." Sly answered. "But judging by what she told us, her world is basically the same as ours."

"Yeah, and we've been on our fair share of awesome adventures too!" Murray added. "Like how we went time-traveling to save Sly's ancestors from a petty rival!"

"So, you're all thieves, then?" Amity wondered aloud while awkwardly sitting between Luz and Lilith.

"Correction, four thieves and one police officer." Carmelita corrected the heiress. "Though I had no other choice if I wanted to see Sly again."

"So, how did you guys get here again?" Willow asked the Cooper Gang.

"Well, it all started with that time traveling adventure Murray mentioned," Bentley answered as he looked up from the yearbook. "Our enemy that time had acquired the power of time travel through my ex-girlfriend betraying us and giving the plans to him, and somehow that led to Sly going across the multiverse through a portal created during his final battle."

"And it just so happens that said ex-girlfriend has joined forces with Belos at some point, along with a band of criminals he recruited for unknown reasons." Lilith added, earning her wary looks from Willow, Gus, and Amity. "What?"

"Yeah, it turns out some of us aren't as comfortable with you being on our side as we thought." Luz declared sheepishly.

"Yeah yeah, I still have work to do." Lilith answered guiltily. "But that's beside the point. What's our first target?"

"Just give me a moment." Bentley replied while skimming through the yearbook and landed on the first portrait of an Abomination student he saw. "This one!"

"Oh, this should be a treat." Eda snarked before reading the name below. "Good ol' Oozan Sludgios."

"Wait, did you say Oozan Sludgios?" Amity asked as she peered over Bentley's shoulder to look at Oozan's picture. "I think I heard my dad talk about him a few times. The two of them have a history together."

"Ooh, what a coincidence!" Dimitri exclaimed. "Please tell us more!"

"Yes, I believe this could be vital to our crusade!" Lilith eagerly added while the gang began crowding around Amity.

"Woo, backstory!" King cheered.

"Okay, I'll tell you all you need to know." Amity replied, looking fondly at Luz among the eager crew. "Here goes."

"Call it luck, call it fate," Sly monologued to himself as Amity began speaking. "but I should consider ourselves happy that the family of Luz's girlfriend happens to have a connection to our first target. The leader of the Wild Witch Syndicate, Oozan Sludgios." He then pictured the criminal witch smoking a cigar he held in his Abomination arm and letting out an evil laugh while surrounded by smoke.

"When he was Amity's age, Oozan attended Hexside and often hung around with Alador Blight, whom he considered like a brother because of their shared expertise in Abomination magic." Oozan was then seen performing what looked like the equivalent of a blood oath with a boy around his age with shaggy brown hair, only they used Abomination goop instead of their blood. "However, things started going sour between the two of them when, in typical love triangle fashion, Odalia came into their lives."

One day, Oozan had prepared a flower made from Abomination goop to present to Odalia, but when he was about to present her with his gift, Oozan saw a green-haired girl who looked like Amity speaking with Alador. "As it turned out, Oozan had a thing for Odalia as well, out of admiration for her cunning and ambition, so seeing the girl he had a thing for hanging with his sworn brother, I can't begin to imagine the heartbreak he felt."

Enraged, Oozan made the Abomination flower collapse in his hand as he stormed off in a huff, the couple unaware that he was there to begin with. "While anyone else could've let their friend be happy with who they love, Sludgios let the jealousy fester and turn him into the crime lord he is today, eventually forming the Wild Witch Syndicate to gain the power he almost had."

As Amity finished her history lesson on Sludgios, the Cooper Coven knew what they had to do as they began gearing up for their next big heist. "Whatever Sludgios has planned, we must stop him, no matter what."

SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:

THUNDER AND BLIGHT-NING

Job: Night Market Reconnaissance

The Night Market, 3:30 pm

The Night Market was Bonesborough's premier black market, primarily open after dark, hence the name. Though there wasn't as much criminal activity going around since there was still daylight out, some insider info courtesy of Lilith stated that Oozan frequented the market no matter the hour, which made him the perfect target for a stakeout.

Amity flew onto the roof of a closed Organ Donation shop with her white cat staff Ghost and pulled out the Binocucom given to her by Bentley to receive her orders, which so happened to be provided by Lilith.

"Amity, can you read me?" Lilith asked her former student.

"Yes, loud and clear, Miss Lilith." Amity replied somewhat disdainfully.

"Good, I need you to follow Oozan once he enters the market and track him to wherever he might be pulling off some dastardly schemes." Lilith stated before interrupting Amity as she prepared to shut off her Binocucom. "Oh, and one more thing."

"Yes?" Amity asked.

"I know you're still angry at me for making you cheat at the Covention and nearly killing Luz, but I just want you to know that I've moved past those days of dirty tricks." Lilith apologized for her past actions. "I truly hope you'd do the same."

After some careful consideration, Amity just sighed. "Look, I will never forgive you for letting you use me to cheat against Eda, but I've moved past that as well, especially since I'm kind of reconsidering the Emperor's Coven." She declared with a bit more understanding. "Plus, that field trip was far from the first time Luz put her life in danger for the people she loved, and I'm pretty sure it'll be far from the last."

"I can definitely tell you that." Lilith nodded in agreement before Amity ended the conversation as Oozan stepped through the front gates of the Night Market.

"Ah, nothing like a stroll through the ol' Market." Oozan declared to himself with a laugh before he started walking again, unaware that a certain young witch was tailing his every move. But just as Sludgios was about to realize someone was watching him, his scroll began ringing. "Yes? Oh, Mama, caught me at an awkward time!"

"Wait, he still talks with his mom?" Amity muttered in shock and confusion while watching this fearsome criminal have a pleasant chat with his mother over the phone.

"Yes, I'm still wearing the coat you sent me, and am making sure to wash it every day." Oozan continued talking with his mom while continuing to walk. "No, I did not leave behind my life of crime to join the Emperor's Coven. The old man just had an offer my gang and I just couldn't refuse! But don't worry, I'll ensure enough room in his quote-unquote "paradise" for you when the Day of Unity arrives. Alright, you too, Mom."

"Paradise?" Amity muttered to herself while returning to her mission, eventually following the abominable boss to a workshop that smelled like it had Construction coven all over it. "Could this be the place?"

"Archie, open up!" Oozan barked as he knocked on the front door of the workshop. "Where are my rings?!"

"Okay, okay! For Titan's sake, keep your pants on!" Archer barked back as he opened the door. "Y'know boss, you coulda just said please."

"If you insist." Oozan scoffed before putting on a fake smile. "PLEASE, where are my rings?"

"Dat's better!" Archer responded. "That reminds me, come on in! I'm just about done with them!" As Archer led Oozan into his workshop, Amity snuck towards the entrance and pulled out an invisibility glyph to infiltrate it with, taking a deep breath as she opened the door after the two men.

Archer's Workshop

"So glad you could make it, Sludgy. This might be some of my finest work yet!" Archer said proudly while guiding his boss to a big anvil; the two unwise to that an invisible girl is now following them. "Just gotta iron out a few kinks, and we're good as gold! Even had to pull a few strings with the Oracle coven to get summa da materials."

"Just make it quick, Archie. I got more important business to do." Oozan ordered the handyman.

"What, you saying construction isn't important?!" Archer snarled, taking offense to his line of magic being insulted, by his own boss even. "You saying it's irrelevant, insignificant, inessential, or maybe even trivial?!"

"Oh please, I'm just saying I'm on a tight schedule, you mook." Oozan corrected with a puff of his cigar. "Now, where are the rings?"

Amity watched with bated breath as Archer cursed to himself while working on the mysterious rings Sludgios kept demanding, using a pair of tongs to pluck them from the forge and place them onto the anvil so he could hammer them a bit more. At a glance, they seemed like ordinary wedding rings, fitting for Oozan's mad obsession with Odalia. But the purple gems on the rings made Amity nearly gasp in horror.

"Just what I ordered." Oozan grinned happily while gazing at the finished rings. "With these rings, I'll have the Blights wrapped around my finger with a mere thought."

"Glad you're satisfied, my friend." Archer stated appreciatively before holding out his hand. "Now, where's my cut?"

"You'll get your cut soon enough, Arch." Oozan said as he pocketed the rings, much to his subordinate's fury.

"So what, after all the blood, sweat, tears, and other fluids I've put into satisfying your creepy obsession, I don't get anything in return?! Not even a measly quarter-snail?!" Archer roared as he grabbed Oozan by the coat to keep him from leaving.

"Hey, hands off, my mother made me this coat!" Oozan ordered his fellow wild witch as he struggled to free himself from Archer's clutches.

"Well, yo mama and I made some sweet lovin' last night!" Archer replied with a sly grin, breaking the mob boss's suave demeanor and replacing it with fury at the thought of someone insulting his mother.

"Oh, now it's war!" Sludgios declared while breaking out his Gila monster-tipped staff to fight Archer with, and Archer did the same with his staff with a beaver on top of it. However, before a fight could break out, Amity could not hold her breath any longer and let out a loud exhale, accidentally blowing her cover.

"Wait, who let this brat in here?!" Archer asked in alarm.

"Oh, it's not just any brat, Archie." Sludgios replied as he stepped towards the daughter of his former brother in arms with a sinister glare. "Amity Blight. Who would've thought you of all people would find yourself in the Night Market?"

"What are those rings in your pocket?" Amity put on a brave front as she asked Oozan, though deep down, she was terrified of what the man could do to her. "What do you want with my family?!"

"Oh, these?" Oozan pursed his lips as he took the rings out of his pocket. "These are just a gift for Odie. Which reminds me, once you come back home, tell her I'll be seeing her later today."

Now that she had fully realized the implications of what Oozan had planned, Amity began having flashbacks to her mother using a similar piece of jewelry to enforce her control over her daughter. And then, she ran. Amity ran out of the workshop as fast as she could, hoping to get somewhere safe to relay what she had learned to the rest of the Cooper Coven.

"Hey, you get back here this instant, twerp!" Archer snapped at the fleeing Amity as he prepared to chase after her, but Oozan stopped the violent tool guy, for he had a plan of his own.

"Not to worry Mr. Edifice, I got this covered." Oozan said confidently before he looked to his Abomination arm, nodding to it and causing a trio of bats with big ears, no eyes, and a pair of thin tails to emerge from the arm. "Abominations, after her!"

As soon as Amity started fleeing the Night Market, all she could think of was escaping Oozan's clutches, cursing herself for blowing her cover along the way before the bats showed up. "Oh, great."

"You can run, Mittens, but you can't hide from me!" Oozan taunted the prodigy through the bats as the Abomination creatures tried capturing Amity through ropes sprouting from their mouths. Luckily, Amity, being a star student in the Abominations track, was able to easily dodge the bats' attacks by manipulating the ropes away from her and tying the bats up with a wave of her finger.

However, the critters were relentless, and flew into each other to merge into an even bigger bat with menacing eyes and tiny feet that launched rope after rope at Amity. No matter how many were fired, Amity kept frantically dodging in the hopes that she'd be able to escape it in time, but just in case she couldn't make it, Amity knew just who to call. "LUZ!"

As if the heavens answered Amity's prayers, Luz and Sly surfed to the rescue on Owlbert and snatched Amity in midair while tossing glyphs at the bat Abomination to keep it at bay.

"We wanted to meet with you at the rendezvous point, but then we saw you running for your life!" Luz frantically explained as she hugged her purple-haired girlfriend tight. "Are you okay, Ams?"

"We can talk later; we got trouble!" Sly exclaimed, pointing at the giant bat as it seemed to get even larger.

"Wait, I think I've seen this before!" Luz observed the giant monster before the trio. "In video games, the boss often changes into a different form the lower its health gets, so maybe we might stand a chance."

"I have no idea what you just said, but good thinking Luz." Amity responded. "Any weak points we should try to exploit?"

"I got this covered, kids." Sly declared while pulling out a fire glyph that he folded into a paper airplane. "I happened to have gone up against one of your parents' Abomatons, Amity, so I should know what to do here."

"Yeah, that was when you recruited Lilith, right?" Amity asked, and Sly responded by pointing at her with a click of his tongue before tossing the glyph into the bat's mouth. The bat then exploded into a mess of fire and sludge that rained from above as the trio landed on the ground, with Amity providing a shield to protect herself, her girlfriend, and Sly from the falling debris.

"You were right, Luz, he is pretty great." Amity declared in admiration of the Cooper as the rain of goop began slowing, and then all that remained of the bat was directed back to Oozan's arm as he approached the trio. "Oh no!"

"I have to say, Amity, you've certainly grown since last we met." Oozan complimented the Blight before glaring at Sly. "And I see you've been fraternizing with that raccoon as well."

"You must be Sludgios, huh?" Sly asked coldly, raising his cane to protect the girls. "Make one step, and I'll be sure that'll be your last!"

Instead of being intimidated, Oozan just laughed uproariously at Sly's threat. "BAHAHAHAHAHA! Do you honestly believe that dumb little stick of yours can cut me down?!" he cackled in mockery of Sly's signature cane, making the thief blush in embarrassment. "Oh-ho, they just don't make crooks like they used to these days!" Wiping a tear from his eye as his laughter slowed down, Oozan took another look at Amity and brandished the rings again. "Remember to tell 'em that Uncle Sludgy is coming back, 'kay?"

Rather than a confident retort, Amity instead let out a squeak of terror as she froze up again at the sight of the purple gems on the rings. Sly and Luz turned back to Amity with looks of concern on their faces, while their enemy was left unimpressed at her display.

"That's it? No talking back to me with some snappy comeback? Just going to squeak like a little mouse?" Oozan rolled his eyes in waspish disgust. "How ironic, considering your new Palisman's a cat." He then turned away and saddled up on his staff. "Well, it's been nice getting to know everyone, but I gotta jet. See you again soon!"

While Oozan flew away from the trio, Luz turned to Amity, who was still frightened by the encounter. "Amity, what did you see on your stakeout? What were those rings he was holding?"'

"Well, you see, the rings, they were, no. The rings, my mom." Amity began stuttering, unsure how to reveal what she had learned from the workshop. "Those gems, necklace, abusive control!" Eventually, the stuttering gave way to hyperventilating and then into light crying while Sly gently put his gloved hands on her shoulders.

"Whoa, kid, take a breather." Sly tried to calm Amity down, who then began squeezing Sly tight while sobbing into his shoulder. While Sly quickly returned the hug, he beckoned Luz to join him in comforting her girlfriend. "Uh, Luz? I think this might be more your speed."

"Don't worry Sly, I got this covered." Luz declared before she and her big brother figure sandwiched Amity in their embrace, allowing her to calm down enough to form proper words. "It's okay, Amity, we're here. You can explain everything back at the Owl House."

"Thank you." Amity squeaked softly as the group hug broke, and Sly joined Luz on Owlbert as she and Amity flew away on their staves.

JOB COMPLETE

The Owl House, 3:50 pm

"We're back!" Luz called as the three re-entered the Owl House.

"Good to see you made it." Bentley said before he noticed the somewhat shaken Amity stepping out from behind Sly. "How did the reconnaissance go, Amity?"

"Exhausting." Amity sighed tiredly as she flopped down on the couch. "I think we got a decent idea of what Sludgios wants to do now, but it was a little too familiar for me to handle."

"How familiar?" Lilith asked while taking note of Amity's drained state. "Do you need anything? Should I brew some tea?"

"I'll take anything at this point." Amity sighed with her face buried in her hands. "I just need to relax for a bit after what we just went through."

"Okay, you heard the kiddo; everybody clear out!" Dimitri loudly ordered the rest of the gang as they took a few steps away from Amity, except for Luz and Willow, who sat on either side of the girl.

"Thanks for your concern, everybody." Amity smiled softly at the kindness being shown to her while Lilith came back with a cup of tea for her former student.

"Before you tell us what you saw, I think you could use this." Willow suggested before she started guiding Amity through some breathing exercises to calm her down, taking a deep breath and counting to four before going backward as she exhaled.

"Okay, enough warm fuzzies, give us the juice!" Dimitri exclaimed in anticipation.

"If you say so." Amity replied, now much more relaxed and drinking her tea. "So, first things first, apparently, Oozan is a mama's boy."

"Still?!" Eda and Lilith cackled loudly at the news.

"Aw, ol' Oozy-woozy still loves his mama!" Eda snorted in amusement.

"And what else did you see?" Bentley asked while examining any available info on their current target.

"Yeah, like what was with those rings?" Luz added.

"He's got those rings because he wants to put my mother under his control," Amity revealed while taking another sip. "just like how she used this necklace I used to wear to control me."

"Yeah, Amity's parents are kinda garbage." Gus concurred, causing the Cooper Gang to take up arms in defense of their new friend.

"Where are they now?" Carmelita snarled calmly, brandishing her shock pistol in one hand and her boot in the other.

"Whoa, guys, it's mostly her mother who's trash!" Luz tried to calm everybody down. "I can't seem to get a read on her dad, since he's more often off in his own little world. I can relate to that."

"Well, we need to stop whatever Oozan has planned for the Blights, regardless of how they treat other people." Sly announced just as Hooty slithered through a window. "Oh, hey, Hooty, haven't heard from you since we got back. What's up?"

"Good news, everyone!" Hooty cheered before hocking up a stack of wanted posters on the floor. "You guys are wanted criminals now! I just got these from the mailman!"

"Took them long enough!" Sly grinned before he picked up the poster with his face on it and flapped it up and down to remove Hooty's slobber before reading. "1,000,000,000? Nice!"

"Woo, back in the old 1,000,000,000,000, baby!" Eda celebrated seeing her old bounty again before looking at how much Luz was now worth. "Luz, look, you got a higher price than me!"

"You sure? Let me see that." Luz replied before she collected her poster and read her bounty. "2,000,000,000,000 snails?! Wow, I'm sure tons of people must want my head now!"

"Baby's first bounty, and it's bigger than mine." Eda sniffed with pride while the other members of the Cooper Coven looked at their wanted posters.

"Only alive for 5,000,000,000?" Bentley wondered before realizing who could've ordered that. "Of course, she would still want me."

"The Raven Maiden, wanted for 1,500,000,000,000 snails." Lilith read her poster with pride. "This might be my first step into a life of crime." However, there was still one thing she found wrong with her poster. "But did they even bother to get my nose right?!"

"3,000,000,000?! I'm worth way more than that!" Dimitri complained about his bounty.

"Oh please, at least you got a reasonable price on your head. Just look at mine!" King replied before showing off his poster, which labeled him wanted for a measly fifty snails. "The king of demons demands a better bounty!"

Carmelita simply stared at her new bounty poster in horror while reading her "Insult to the Law" epithet and seeing how she was now worth the same amount as Sly. The Interpol officer had devoted her life to upholding the law wherever she went, but thanks to her love for the thief, she was now officially a wanted woman in a world she barely knew about. Her jaw gaping, the fox only had one thing to say. "My life is officially over."

"Ah, cheer up Carms, it's just numbers." Murray tried to assure the officer turned enemy of the state while looking at his bounty of 2,500,000,000. "Besides, this isn't the first time you were deemed a criminal for hanging with us."

"Yes, but this is different, Murray." Carmelita replied. "None of us have a clue how the laws of this world work! For all we know, the death penalty could be upon us any day now! Plus, we don't have any alleged allies of mine to rat us out, either."

"Hey, look, I got one too!" Hooty said upon spotting a wanted poster dedicated to him at the bottom. Reading it, however, made him realize that he didn't seem to have a bounty like the others. "Hey, how come I'm not worth anything?! And why are they calling me "Freak of Nature" too?! That's just insulting!"

"And there's a note." Amity added and picked up a letter in an envelope addressed to the Cooper Coven. "To whom it may concern," she started reading. "consider this a warning from the Emperor's Coven. You are now officially wanted for your crimes of theft and repeated assaults on government officials. The same will go for any allies you gather should you continue your criminal activities. Signed, the Emperor's Coven."

"Guess that means if you join us, you'll be wanted too." Luz realized to her best friends and her girlfriend. "You willing to make that sacrifice?"

"Anything for you, Luz." Willow answered.

"So, Amity, ready for us to meet your folks?" Murray asked, placing a massive, comforting hand on Amity's shoulder. "Just remember, we're gonna stick by you the whole way."

"Alright, let's go." Amity declared.

Job: Meet the Parents

Blight Manor, 4:05 pm

"811 Bruegel Boulevard," Bentley announced while reading off a business card for Blight Industries as the van pulled up to a mansion that greatly resembled an English castle. "This should be the place."

"Woo, fancy!" Murray exclaimed as the gang got out and started walking. "Are you, like, rich or something?"

"Yes, very." Amity answered. "Now, I need you all to be on your best behavior. You guys are already making the news lately, and I don't think my parents would want me hanging with criminals."

"We shall try, Amity." Carmelita responded. "But make no mistake, I'm keeping an eye on them."

"Been a while we saw ol' Odie and Al, eh Lily?" Eda asked Lilith.

"Haven't seen much from them since Odalia blew up at me for the Covention incident and had Amity pulled." Lilith replied. "Hopefully, that's all water under the bridge by now, right?"

"You underestimate my mom for an old friend of hers." Amity snarked as the group finally arrived at the door, and she started knocking. An Abomination soon opened the door and allowed the visitors to come in. "Thank you, Lurch."

"So, I've been researching Amity's family on the way here." Bentley proclaimed to Sly as the team gathered in the manor's living room. "They run their own Abomination-based security company headquartered not too far from this house, naturally associated with the Abomination coven. Perhaps Oozan wishes for Odalia's hand in marriage so he can seize control of this company to strengthen the Syndicate's power over the Isles' criminal underworld."

"What kind of security are we talking about here?" Sly asked.

"Oh, you know, like giant Abomination robots and the like." Luz answered. "I should know. I was forced to test one of them to keep me and my friends from getting expelled."

"Wait, expelled?!" Dimitri exclaimed before looking at Amity. "Geez, your family totes ruthless!"

"I know." Amity admitted honestly. "And speaking of my family."

"Mittens, there you are!" a teenage boy with dark green hair, golden eyes, and a bat perched on his shoulder exclaimed as he and a nearly identical-looking girl stepped into the living room to greet Amity. "So, you're chilling with the one and only Sly Cooper now, huh?"

"Who are these two, your siblings or something?" Sly asked about the two teenagers.

"Yep, this is Edric and Emira, my older brother and sister." Amity introduced her elder siblings.

"It's an honor to meet you, Sly." Edric said while shaking the raccoon's hand and using his free hand to make a circle with his finger to create something on Sly's back, which he discovered to be a piece of paper saying "HEX ME" on it. "Gotcha!"

"Clever!" Sly smirked at Edric's prank.

"So, Amity, what brings them all here?" Emira asked her younger sister.

"We're here to warn you about a criminal coming after your family, children." Carmelita replied. "We have reason to believe he wants to marry your mother so he can take control of your family company."

"In Layman's terms, this guy is down bad for your mom." Gus added.

"Oh, you mean Oozan?" Edric immediately recognized who the gang was talking about. "I wouldn't blame him, though, because give your eyes a feast!" He then pulled a magazine out of his pocket, and on the front cover was what Sly assumed to be the three kids' mother posing by the beach in a tight-fitting purple one-piece.

"Ooh, this more than a feast; it's a five-course meal!" Dimitri hollered amorously with the magazine in hand.

"Oozan may be a criminal mastermind, but he's got good taste in women!" Sly agreed.

"Wait, is that Witches' Weekly?" Eda asked while snatching the magazine out of Dimitri's hands. "I tried to audition for the front cover, but since the boys thought I was too old thanks to my curse, they decided to go with someone younger-looking instead. I was robbed of a potential modeling career, I tells ya!"

"You, a model?" Lilith snickered lightly. "I won't deny that tons of people find you attractive, but I'm not sure if you're cover material." Eda then turned red with anger and embarrassment in response.

"Yeah, our mom is hot. We get it." Emira said as she took the magazine away. "Just don't get super annoying about it."

"Yeah, one time she caught us talking about her big butt, and she made us clean the bathroom with toothpicks as punishment." Edric added, cringing as he reminisced on that memory.

"T-toothpicks?" Carmelita stuttered in both shock and confusion at such a ridiculous punishment. "Why toothpicks?"

"TOOTHPICKS!" Edric yelled while shaking Carmelita by the arms. "Also, you doing anything tonight?"

"Hey!" Sly got in between his girlfriend and the young witch. "She's already seeing someone else, that being me. Also, she is way outta your league, little guy."

"Back on topic, will you help us against Sludgios?" Willow asked.

"Sure, anything to get him off our backs." Emira agreed to the offer.

"Plus, we can get you into the factory if you need anything." Edric added before they heard a door open. "And speak of the devil."

"Amity, is that you?" a woman's voice asked for Amity, sending the three kids into a panic.

"Oh no, someone hide the magazine!" Edric exclaimed before he jumped up and shoved the Witches' Weekly issue in Murray's mouth as that issue's cover model stepped into the living room, along with an unkempt-looking man in a lab coat and goggles. "Hi, mom."

"Oh, there you are! Ever since that no-good thief broke into Hexside, I've been worried sick for you!" the children's mother exclaimed worriedly for Amity, much to the girl's annoyance. "Oh, and I see you brought your human friend as well."

"Hey, this no-good thief is standing right here." Sly said, crossing his arms in disgust. "And he hates you already."

"Odalia and Alador Blight, I presume." Bentley added while adjusting his glasses. "We need to talk."

"You!" Odalia yelled while pointing at Sly. "I don't have a clue what you want with my children, but I will not allow them to fall in with a criminal and his gang!"

"Odalia, you must understand." Lilith tried calming the angry mother down. "We're here to give you a warning."

"Oh, hello, Lilith." Odalia coldly greeted Lilith. "Haven't seen you since the Covention. And I see Edalyn's here too."

"What up, Odie?" Eda casually greeted Odalia.

"Looks like almost all of the old gang is here." Alador declared. "So what brings you here, Owl Lady, especially when you're bringing along that Cooper Gang everyone's been talking about?"

"We're here because your family is in danger." Murray said, his mouth still full of the magazine that he corrected by swallowing the issue whole. "Anyways, your family is in-"

"Yes, I could understand you the first time, hippo man." Odalia interrupted the Murray with a scoff. "What kind of danger could you perhaps be speaking of, other than your presence here?"

"Just gonna say this outright," Sly said to Dimitri, barely noticing Alador quietly batting at his tail. "but I think she's the most obnoxious person I think we've ever met on our adventures yet."

"How obnoxious we talkin' here?" Dimitri asked.

"More irritating than Le Paradox, and that's a pretty high bar to cross." Sly added before turning to Alador. "Hey, Mr. Blight, can you cut that out?"

"You know I'm standing right here, raccoon." Odalia grimaced at Sly.

"Okay, before we get all sobby and hot here, you gotta listen." Dimitri tried breaking the two up. "Listen, good-lookin', you going to be needing help. Some thug is going down bad for you, babe!"

As luck would have it, that exact thug was already outside the Blight manor, pressing his Abomination arm to the back of the Cooper Gang's van and leaving behind a purple handprint. "They're here." Oozan Sludgios muttered to himself before looking up at the mansion before him. "This visit just got a little more interesting."

"And what kind of thug are you talking about, other than you and your broken English, you neanderthal?!" Odalia yelled at Dimitri, eliciting a loud gasp before he began theatrically sobbing.

"Listen, Mrs. Blight. I wish we could've gotten this across earlier," Luz said to Odalia. "but this old friend of yours still holds a torch!"

"Wait, you mean-" Alador began before the front door suddenly opened, and in stepped Oozan Sludgios. "Oozan."

"Al, Odie, my old friends!" Oozan exclaimed gregariously, despite Lurch's efforts to try and keep the boss at bay before Sludgios had enough of it. "Abomination, fall!" he commanded the butler, forcing Lurch to collapse into a pile of ooze that he absorbed into his arm. "Much better."

"Hello, Sludgy." Eda said sardonically as her former classmate strolled into the room and smiled at the sight of the Clawthorne sisters.

"Eda, Lily, you too?! Bring it in, everybody, group hug!" Oozan laughed loudly as he wrapped Eda, Lilith, Odalia, and Alador in his goopy embrace. "The old gang, back together again! Pretty sure all that we need now are Perry, Bump, Darius, Raine, Mixie, and Mirector. Eh, what are you gonna do?"

"Hello there, Oozan." Lilith laughed nervously, wiping some Abomination goop off of herself as Sludgios took a seat in a nearby chair.

"Not another move!" Carmelita yelled as she aimed her shock pistol at Oozan while Willow kept the boss bound to the chair with some vines. "Hand over the rings; we promise we'll go easy on you."

"Come now, is this the way to treat an honored guest?" Oozan purred as he easily cut his way out with some blades sprouting from his oozing arm. "Besides, I only come here with a simple request."

"We know what you want, Oozan. Just cut it out and leave." Eda commanded the criminal.

"Don't get too harsh, Eda." Sludigos smirked. "Besides, you remember our deal ages ago, right?"

"Wait, a deal?" Sly wondered. "You were working with him?"

"Well, he wanted me to, but I turned it down." Eda answered the thief. "It was, I don't know, ten or so years ago when he gave me the opportunity."

Bonesborough, Ten or So Years Ago

"Stop in the name of Emperor Belos, Owl Lady!" a coven guard yelled to Eda, who back in those days had short orange hair that was slowly losing its color, golden eyes to match the gem on her chest along with a similarly colored ring and pair of earrings, and a sleeveless, two-toned red dress with matching boots, as she ran from the authorities with a full sack of elixirs in hand.

"Oh, boys, can't a lady get her meds in peace?" Eda smirked at the group of guards chasing after her before she found herself back into a wall. "Besides, if you keep me running for any longer, you're in for a real treat."

"Don't get too cocky, Edalyn. This time we finally have you cornered." The scout arrogantly declared while brandishing a pair of handcuffs. Suddenly, a little gila monster leaped onto the guard's mask and began clawing at it, causing the guard to stumble around while dropping the cuffs. "Yagh, get this little thing off of me!"

"Don't worry, Eric, I got you!" another one of the guards said while trying to grab the lizard, only for it to nimbly escape his grasp before returning to its owner standing high above the alley.

"Nice work Ace." A younger Oozan Sludgios, who back then had much curlier hair in a big mullet, congratulated his Palisman before he fired from his Abomination arm, trapping the guards in his ooze and saving Eda from danger.

"Sludgios, is that you?" Eda gasped in amazement as her old Hexside classmate dropped to the ground with a smirk. "You saved my life!"

"Eda! I see you haven't changed a bit; it felt like ages!" Oozan replied just as happily, and the two began hugging, elated to see each other again after so long.

"And it looks like you changed too." Eda replied while gazing at Oozan's arm. "What happened to the arm, bud?"

"Lost it to a Coven head." Sludgios replied sadly, looking at his purple fist and clenching it. "Good thing I put one of my old school projects to good use to make a prosthetic. Speaking of disabilities, how's that curse treating you?

"I'm just chugging along." Eda said. "I was on my way back from getting my elixirs at Morton's before the boys showed up, and you saved my hide. But it feels like any day now, I might drain my magic dry and turn myself into a half-a-witch."

"I understand your pain, Eda." Oozan declared sympathetically before he got an idea. "Hey, I'd like to talk to you about something, maybe at Grimgrub's. Drinks are on me."

"Hey, I'm down for something other than elixirs to drink." Eda accepted her old friend's offer before turning to the scouts. "You don't mind letting us leave you here, right?"

"Yeah, we're probably gonna get yelled at anyways if we come back or not, so go right ahead." One of the trapped Scouts groaned in defeat as the two wild witches walked away arm-in-arm. "So, which one of us is gonna take the fall?"

"I call it the Wild Witch Syndicate." Oozan said as he and Eda helped themselves to some apple blood at Grimgrub's Pub later that night. "We're just a motley bunch of wild witches who are just as sick of this system as you are, but we plan to make our hatred more of a spectacle."

"How much of a spectacle, exactly?" Eda asked.

"We're pulling out all the stops regarding dirty crime." Oozan continued. "I'm talking assassination, shady politics, poaching, thievery, gang violence, con-artistry, all kinds of murder, and I get to be at the very top."

"Hm, okay." Eda began getting more intrigued. "I'm getting a little more excited. But what does this have to do with me?"

"I want you to join us, Eda." Sludgios offered to the Owl Lady. "And if you do, maybe we can find a way to heal your curse, too!"

"Okay, back it up there, bro!" Eda exclaimed, stopping Oozan in his tracks. "I'm all for fixing my curse, but I got a feeling that this may come at a price somehow."

"Wait, what do you mean a price?!" Oozan began complaining as he slammed his mug on the counter. "I'm being as honest as the day is long!"

"Look, Sludgy, I get you want to help," Eda tried to be honest with the crime lord. "but whenever I see someone wanting to heal my curse, it's either my mom relying on some kind of alternative medicine I'm sure is just a scam or someone who's out to get me. In other words, I'm going to have to turn you down."

"But you have to believe me; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!" Oozan started begging as the Owl Lady decided to leave. "Don't you walk away from me!"

"Look Sludgy, I hate to stand you up, but I got more important business to do." Eda declared before she boarded her staff and flew off. "Ciao!"

As Eda flew away from the pub, Oozan stepped outside and began angrily shaking his fist at his fellow wild witch. "You can run, Eda, but I know you'll come crawling back to me someday! When you become some raging beast or lose all your magic, you'll be begging on your knees for me to save you! I swear it!"

"So, what do you say, Eda?" Oozan asked in the present day while taking a puff of his cigar. "My offer still stands, especially after what went down at the petrification ceremony."

"Sorry, Sludgy, but still no dice." Eda boldly rejected the offer.

"Yeah, no one is going to join you today." Amity added, finally getting her Oozan's attention.

"Why, it's my favorite kids!" Oozan exclaimed happily at the Blight children. "Come on, kids, give your uncle Sludgy a hug!"

"Actually, I just got out of the shower, and I don't want my hair getting this dirty so soon." Edric tried to lie his way out of a hug, but he was too late. The three siblings were wrapped in a messy bear hug courtesy of Oozan and tried to wriggle free from his embrace, only to be squeezed even tighter.

"My, someone's eager to get out." Oozan chuckled as he let the kids go before examining Amity's hair. "And look at you, Amity! Finally changed that hair, I see. I never cared much for that shade of green."

"Okay, I believe we've had enough pleasantries." Odalia finally spoke up again. "Everyone keeps hyping you for having some big scheme that involves me somehow, so fess up!"

"Oh, I'm glad you asked, Odie dear." Sludgios smirked before he dropped to one knee and presented the rings, eliciting gasps from everyone in the room. "Odalia Blight, will you do me the honor of being my lovely wife?"

"Ooh, drama!" Dimitri whispered as Odalia became too stunned to know what to say. She then quickly found the right words, much to Oozan's dismay.

"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid I'll have to turn you down." Odalia declared disdainfully. "Besides, I'm already married, and you're just not my type."

"Not your type?!" Oozan yelled, completely outraged. "Would someone who's not your type pull this off?!" Forcing the ring on Odalia's finger, Oozan then tapped the purple gem on his with a smirk and began telepathically speaking to her through it. "I will become your husband, through hell or high water."

"So not only is he a notorious criminal, but he also doesn't know when to take no for an answer." Willow observed, frightened by Oozan's display of the rings.

"Can't believe I thought those two would be good for each other back in the day." Eda murmured.

"There, I suppose you all know what I want by now." Oozan declared while he took off his ring. "Oh, and just to make sure I mean it." He then stuck out his Abomination arm and fired ooze from it that stuck the Cooper Coven, Edric, Emira, and Alador to the wall. "If you change your mind, you know where to find me."

As Oozan made his leave with a smile as if nothing had happened, Sly wriggled his way out of the sludge to confront Odalia. "Now, do you believe we want to help you, as much as I hate to say it?"

"This is what I'm willing to sink to for the sake of self-preservation?" Odalia looked disgusted at the thought of being forced to team up with a thief. "Fine, whatever, anything to get him off my back." She growled before she and Sly shook hands, sealing their tenuous alliance. "But make no mistake, once we're done, I don't want you involving us in any of your games after this! Are we clear?"

"Oh, cross my heart, madam." Sly declared while the rest of the team and the Blights freed themselves from Oozan's sludge behind his back. "But if you want our silence, I think it should be for a price."

"A price?! Outrageous!" Odalia started getting red with rage while Sly smirked at the mother's expense.

"Just hear him out, Mom." Amity assured her mother. "After all, a Blight must-"

"Always hold up their end of the deal." Odalia finished for her daughter with a groan. "How much are we talking here, Cooper?"

"How do 1,000,000,000 snails sound?" Sly suggested. "That's the currency here, right?"

"If you say so." Odalia obliged reluctantly. "Now, please, get out of my house."

"Not yet, dear." Alador proclaimed. "I think I know what Sludgios really wants out of marrying you." He then turned to Bentley. "Bentley, was it? Please, come with me."

"I'd be much obliged." Bentley accepted the offer and rolled behind Alador to his workshop.

Alador led Bentley into the basement of the family home, which he used as his workshop to build and test products for his wife's company. "Astounding work here, Alador!" Bentley gasped in awe at the Abomination-based machinery and weapons surrounding him. "I can definitely see why Oozan was so tight-knit with you. Some of these would be considered arbitrary in my world!"

"Please, you're too kind, Bentley." Alador blushed at the turtle's appraisal of his work before he began frowning at the mention of his former friend. "But speaking of Oozan, it's a real shame how much his crush on Odalia has corrupted him."

"And frankly, I don't get what he sees in her!" Bentley complained. "I mean, I've met some particularly despicable characters during my adventures with Sly, but that old bat is a real piece of work! The way I see it, Oozan just has a piss-poor taste in women!" Bentley then quickly turned to Alador with a worried expression on his face. "Uh, no offense."

"None taken. I totally see your point." Alador accepted Bentley's apology. "Like, this one time, I came down with a case of the fire flu, so I couldn't come to work one weekend, so what did Odalia do? She fired half my team while expecting us to keep working!" He then started sneezing, and Bentley reflexively gave him a tissue, but the tissue suddenly caught fire. "My apologies, still suffering some side effects."

"That also reminds me, sorry for what happened to your butler." Bentley apologized again.

"No worries, I can make another one." Alador said before he turned to a small vat of Abomination goop and raised his hands. "Abomination, rise!" Like that, a new butler emerged from the vat and stepped out to receive further orders. "Lurch, be a dear and get us some drinks. I'm feeling ginger ale." Alador turned to Bentley. "You?"

"Shrimp cocktail?" Bentley suggested, and the butler complied before it left. The two geniuses' conversation started again as soon as the new Lurch returned with their refreshments. "Thanks."

"Like I said earlier, it's a shame how Oozan let his feelings for my wife turn him into a monster." Alador sighed after sipping some of his ginger ale. "Was there ever a time when someone you cared for went bad because you spent more time with someone else?"

"Oh-ho-ho, trust me, I know exactly what you were going through!" Bentley laughed while slamming his shrimp cocktail on the workbench before he began to recount his relationship with Penelope. "So, my friends and I were getting back together because Sly learned his ancestral treasure trove was in danger by a jealous old friend of his dad, and we assembled a bigger gang to pull off what we believed to be the biggest heist of our careers. One of those new members was an RC expert named Penelope that I met online who recruited us to defeat her boss in an airplane convention, only to turn it that she was her boss all this time!"

"Intriguing." Alador nodded.

"She was a pretty staunch ally to us from then on until Sly started faking amnesia to be with Carmelita without her wanting to arrest him." Bentley continued. "Penelope and I stayed together to work on a few projects, like a time machine, for example! But then one day, she just vanished. As it turned out, she fell in with this longtime rival of Sly's family because for some reason, she thought Sly was wasting my potential. But really, she just wanted to get rich selling weapons."

"Oh, you poor dear." Alador shook his head in sympathy for Bentley's plight. "Where is this Penelope now?"

"After I stopped her from taking over the Middle Ages in a robot fight and took her to prison, she kept sending me these postcards soon after Sly vanished." Bentley replied as he pulled out some of Penelope's postcards to show Alador. "But now it seems she found herself on the Boiling Isles just like Sly has and joined up with Emperor Belos for who knows what reason."

"Thanks for explaining, but now I have to ask." Alador said. "Was Penelope always like this, or were there any external reasonings for this kind of behavior?"

"We have no idea either." Bentley responded with a shake of his head before turning back to the scientist's wares. "Now then, there's no doubt Oozan will want to strike at the heart of this operation."

"Then you'll have to keep watch over Blight Industries." Alador stated. "That's where most of our products are created and sold. You can't miss it; it's not too far from here."

"Thanks. I'll tell everyone when we go back upstairs." Bentley nodded with a smile. "You know, Alador, when you're away from Odalia's influence, you're not too bad of a guy. A little spaced out, but reliable nonetheless."

"Charmed." Alador responded with a smile of his own, and the two shook hands.

JOB COMPLETE

Chalmun Port, Left Elbow of the Boiling Isles, 4:20 pm

Following his disastrous proposal to Odalia and departure from the Blights' manor, Oozan had retreated to the Wild Witch Syndicate's base of operations at the Left Elbow of the Boiling Isles. It was one of the seediest, most wretched hives on the entire island, where criminal witches would often flock to when seeking sanctuary from the authorities.

"Damn that Odalia, she's just playing hard to get." Sludgios vented to himself over a large mug of apple blood. "Good thing I still have that ring to make her do whatever I want her to do!" Just then, he heard the door to his office open, and in walked Darius Deamonne. "Darius, what a pleasant surprise."

"I heard the proposal went south." Darius commented while closing the door behind him. "Let me guess, did ol' Ala-Hack get in the way?"

"Oh, not just him, the whole family was up in arms!" Oozan complained to the head witch of the Abomination Coven. "They even had that blasted raccoon and the meddling human with them too!"

"You mean Sly Cooper was there?" Darius repeated with intrigue. "My, he's building quite a repertoire if the Blights allowed him into their home!"

"He's just another pest I'll have to sweep off the board!" Oozan declared boldly while gazing out the window and pulling out another cigar to smoke. "Once he, the human, and all the others are taken care of, I can finally reign supreme as the most powerful man on the Boiling Isles!"

"Bold choice of words coming from someone in league with the emperor." Darius chuckled snidely as he decided to leave Oozan to his business. "I hate to cut and run, but I have some much-needed me time to attend to, but I promise to check up every now and then."

"You better." Oozan responded. "You still owe me for cutting off my arm all those years ago."

"You will never let me live that down." Darius's sly grin turned into a firm frown at the memory before shutting the door behind him, allowing him a moment to give his thoughts on the situation privately. "Some people just can't take no for an answer."

The Owl House, 4:25 pm

As soon as the Cooper Coven returned to the Owl House, Bentley immediately began stirring the scrying potion in the pot as he made his presentation. "Seems like Oozan will be one tough nut to crack." He declared while presenting the abominable boss's portrait in the mixture. "Which means we'll have no choice but to team up with the Blight family, as much as we'd hate to admit it."

"I certainly do!" Sly butted in with his two cents.

"Easy, Sly." Bentley calmed his best friend down as he continued talking while presenting a large factory. "Thankfully, Alador was able to privately grant me some info on the inner workings of Blight Industries, which means we'll be ready for when Oozan strikes."

"I wonder what the ship name could be?" Luz wondered aloud. "Alabentley? Bentador?" She gasped excitedly. "Albentadorly!"

"Save all fantasizing till the end of the presentation, Luz." Bentley ordered the human. "Anyways, Oozan runs a very tight ship, and out of all the members of the Wild Witch Syndicate, he has the tightest grip on their homestead of Chalmun Port." He declared as the cauldron began showing the Boiling Isles' number one destination for scum and villainy. "However, due to their alliance with the Emperor's Coven, the place will be heavily guarded by Coven Scouts, meaning we'll need to find a way to infiltrate their ranks so we can safely traverse the town."

"Yeah, I've been to Chalmun Port before, but I don't think I'll be allowed there anymore with those Coven Scouts around." Eda concurred.

"Eda's right, one of us needs to find a uniform to blend in with the other scouts." Lilith agreed with her sister while the potion next displayed an average scout. "Augustus, while we'd be more than happy to use your illusions, we could be found out easily once they wear off."

"Fair's fair." Gus replied.

"Once we get everything we need, we can stop Oozan's little big, fat, abominable wedding before he can start planning." Bentley proclaimed, ending his presentation.

Job: Bug the Syndicate's Headquarters

Chalmun Port, 4:40 pm

A few minutes later, Carmelita was flown to Chalmun Port by Amity and Willow on Willow's staff Clover, and she pulled out her binocucom to receive her orders.

"Alrighty, Carms, you know what to do." Sly declared cheekily while Carmelita pointed her binocucom at the streets below. "Get that listening bug we disguised as a bust into the Syndicate's headquarters without getting caught. Which means you'll probably need a disguise of some kind."

"Affirmative, Sly." Carmelita replied as she turned her attention to some coven scouts transporting some goods purchased from the black market. "Where will the kids fall into this?"

"Luz and Bentley want them to investigate the black market not too far from here." Sly answered. "Plus, Luz thinks this could serve as good bonding time for the two, since I hear they were friends before Amity's parents tore them apart."

"Just when I thought Amity's family situation couldn't get any worse." Carmelita sighed with disgust. "Talk to you later, Sly." Once the officer ended her chat with Sly, she turned to the two witchlets and put her hands on their shoulders. "And good luck to the both of you." Carmelita then kissed Willow on the forehead before grabbing Amity and showering her with kisses, eliciting giggles from the Blight.

"Miss Carmelita, stop!" Amity laughed while trying to wriggle free. "What's with all the affection?"

"Sorry, Amity," Carmelita apologized once she stopped and put Amity down. "it's just that after hearing what your mother did to you, I want you to know that I'll always be there to give you the love you desperately need."

"Thanks, I guess." Amity blushed before turning to Willow. "Come on. We got a job to do."

"Right." Willow nodded before the two girls departed, leaving Carmelita to sneak through Chalmun Port while trying to keep herself from being seen by the coven scouts.

"Dum dum dum, waiting for new orders." A scout hummed to himself while looking at his scroll, unaware that a certain fox was looming behind him. He was so absorbed in his mobile device that the scout was oblivious to how Carmelita was now dragging him by the cape into the alley behind them until it was too late. "Hey, what's going on?! Who are you?!"

"I'm going to need you to keep quiet." Carmelita commanded the scout before shocking him unconscious with her shock pistol. A few moments later, Carmelita re-emerged into Chalmun Port's streets, now fully disguised as a coven scout. However, the circumstances that led to her dressing as such weighed heavily on her. "I can't believe I just did that."

"One of us, one of us!" Sly, Bentley, and Murray began chanting over Carmelita's earpiece. "We accept her, we accept her! One of us, one of-"

"One more chant, and I'm bringing all of you in when this is done!" Carmelita ordered the Cooper Gang before she noticed a strange, white-skinned creature with reddish hair and a massive nose. "You heard nothing."

"Youw secwet's safe with me." The critter whispered before she scampered off to engage in some shady business. Satisfied that she hadn't been caught, Carmelita pulled a bust of Sludgios out of her pocket to examine it before putting it away and walking towards the nearest scout.

"Uh, hello there, fellow servant of the emperor." Carmelita greeted the scout in a falsetto voice. "How do you do on this day?"

"Oh, hey there." The scout responded, oblivious to the scout being Carmelita in disguise. "Haven't seen you around lately. What's your name?"

"My name is, uh, Dana." Carmelita fibbed. "I'm new here, just got transferred to this operation by Belos himself."

"Lucky, working your way to the big leagues already!" the scout congratulated "Dana" with a high five. "Name's Steve, by the way. You need anything?"

"Yes, I was planning on delivering this to Mr. Sludgios." Carmelita explained as she pulled out the bust. "Can you tell me where he lives?"

"He and the other Syndicate members usually hang around that big mansion above the rest of Chalmun Port." Steve revealed while pointing to a high-rise manor overlooking the port town. "Can't miss it. And if anyone asks, tell 'em Steve sent ya!"

"Thank you very much, Steve." Carmelita bowed to Steve before making her way to the Syndicate's mansion. Behind her back, however, Steve looked at Carmelita's big, bushy tail and scratched his chin in curiosity but quickly brushed it off.

"Whew, talk about quite a place to live for a bunch of thugs." Carmelita muttered to herself as she ascended the stairs leading to the Syndicate's mansion before she reached the front door and started knocking.

"Halt, who goes there?!" a Coven Guard yelled while glaring at the disguised Interpol officer through the peephole.

"I'm just making a delivery for Oozan Sludgios." Carmelita answered in her Dana voice. "Steve sent me."

"Oh, we like Steve." The guard said happily before opening the door for Carmelita. "Come on in, Ms…."

"Dana, my name is Dana." Carmelita responded as she was led into an opulent front hall. "Can you tell me who built this house? I love the construction work done here."

"Archer Edifice built this place with some of the finest construction witches he could threaten with violence into helping him." The guard responded while guiding Carmelita through the mansion, up the stairs, and into a large hallway. "Mr. Sludgios's office should be at the end of that hall. He sometimes leaves the door open whenever he steps out, so you can just leave it there and go."

"Thank you, how awfully convenient." Carmelita said gratefully before walking down the hallway to Oozan's office. Not too far from the office, there was a door that led to a massive rec room, and Carmelita's intrigue over how the witches behaved when not committing crimes led her to go inside.

"And now, back to The Obnoxious Housewives of the Boiling Isles." An announcer on a crystal ball that Archer and Ognsta were watching declared as the two witches drank some hard liquor and sat in stylish recliners.

"Man, these women are a real treat!" Archer cackled while the crystal ball displayed a mother making a huge scene at a grocery store. "I mean, come on, the world ain't ever gonna revolve around them, but they still love to be the center of attention anyways!"

"Good thing I never married a woman who would bully everyone around her." Ognsta declared pridefully, his feet kicked up on the footrest. "Medico is the kind of woman I'm into, softspoken yet utterly ruthless, and can meet me at my level!"

"Yeah, yeah, you're a proud hubby. Get a room you two." Archer complained before taking another sip from his drink.

Nearby, Carmelita could see Mixzela and Medico giving each other makeovers while talking about their recent crimes like they were teenage girls. "So, how many bile sacs have you extracted lately?" Mixzela asked.

"Oh, quite a surplus, I'll tell you." Medico casually revealed how many witches she no doubt killed for their bile sacs. "Men, women, children, demons, there were so many screams, I couldn't get my work done without telling them to shut up. Do you have any more anesthetic potions I could use?"

"I'll see what I can whip up with the ingredients I still have." Mixzela replied, looking around to make sure no one was listening before she whispered into Medico's ear. "I've actually been working on a special poison to use on the emperor lately."

"You dare?!" Medico laughed cheekily, making Carmelita cringe in disgust before she stepped towards Mirector practicing a speech with Tienhan.

"And that is why, good people of the Isles, if elected as senator of the Boiling Isles, I promise equal rights for all witches, coven and wild alike!" Mirector dramatically proclaimed while reading from a paper before turning to Tienhan. "What will that do me?"

Sitting in a foldout chair, Tienhan began meditating over any possible futures that speech would create before he gave his answer. "Such a speech would prove to be quite controversial." He proclaimed. "In fact, Belos might plot against you for it."

"You're right. Want to look good for all the Isles." Mirector realized. "Hey, you're a really great help with these speeches, Razzy." Tienhan just grinned with respect towards his compatriot's compliment.

Finally, Carmelita decided to spy on Piper trying to engage in small talk with Seru, who was too busy suckling on the fleshy bits of a freshly decayed carcass to pay attention. "So, Mr. Venryap, have any hobbies besides drinking people's vital fluids and decorating with chrysalises containing their shriveled-up bodies?" Piper asked awkwardly, but the bug demon gave no response. "What about any family members? I'd love to meet them." Still nothing. "What, nothing? Just not a people person then?"

However, when Venyrap finally decided to speak, it was because he had finally noticed Carmelita in the rec room, and he dropped his snack before menacingly stalking towards her. "Hello there, little scout." He greeted intimidatingly. "What brings you to the Syndicate's humble abode?"

"I'm just here to deliver this bust to Mr. Sludgios." Carmelita answered, presenting the bust to Seru. "I was just on my way to his office when I decided to check up on all of you."

"Oh, we're all doing positively peachy, my dear." Piper declared proudly while gripping onto his red suit. "What's your name now?"

"Dana." Carmelita answered.

"Dana, such a lovely name." Piper said wistfully with a romantic twinge to his voice. "Say, if you'd like, I can deliver that bust to the office and save you the trouble."

"That would be wonderful, but I'm afraid I'll have to decline." Carmelita rejected the offer before she began to leave. "Goodbye, everyone."

"Goodbye!" Piper waved farewell.

"Who was that just now?" Archer asked while turning his head to face the other wild witches.

"Oh, just some scout making a delivery, no big deal." Mixzela replied.

"Eh, never mind." Archer added. "Now someone fetch me anuddah beer!"

"This is almost too easy." Carmelita snarked as she finally made her way to Oozan's office at the end of the hall. Just as the coven guard said, the door was open, and the room was left empty, leaving the fox wondering where Oozan was going. But that didn't matter, because now she could finally plant the bust and make her escape.

"This is Carmelita. The bust has been secured." Carmelita declared into her earpiece after setting down the bust. "I'm making my way out now."

"Great work Carmelita. You did some fine infiltration." Sly congratulated his rival. "Not bad for your first big job on the Boiling Isles."

"Yes, I have to admit, it's like they almost want to be caught." Carmelita replied as she decided to get out through the front window so no one could hear her speak in her normal voice. "Requesting pickup, I'm in front of the big mansion at Chalmun Port."

"Good to know. I'll have Luz pick you up." Sly answered before Carmelita snuck off into the shadows of the mansion. However, she was left unaware of Oozan looming on the rooftops of the villa, looking down on the escaped intruder with an angry scowl.

JOB COMPLETE

Job: Black Market Investigation

"Misericors Domine Titan, dona nobis requiem" a group of monks chanted while marching through the black market and smacking their faces with wooden planks every time they paused.

The black market that Amity and Willow had snuck into was every bit as shady and filthy as they expected. A pair of demons were playing a game of Hexes Hold-Em, only for one to act like a sore loser and decide to tear his opponent to shreds. A barker loudly announced that he was giving away slaves for a modest price, his amicable demeanor a sharp contrast to the despair of his products. A witch yelled, "BRING OUT YOUR DEAD!" as he hauled around a wheelbarrow stuffed with corpses. Lastly, the two girls could see a small group of coven scouts making their way into the market, paying no mind to the surrounding debauchery.

"I know Chalmun Port was a pretty terrible place, but I never knew it'd be this messed up." Willow muttered nervously. "And all this to protect the people who ruined our friendship back when we were kids."

"I know. Crazy, isn't it?" Amity responded while noticing Willow's uncertain expression. "Hey, don't let the past get you down. We got a job to do."

"Okay." Willow put on a small smile as the two girls snuck through the black market, hiding behind stands, taking pictures along the way for later use, and keeping themselves from being spotted by coven guards and visitors. The two of them noticed a few more unsavory characters that they took care not to disturb, like two men sharing a laugh before one of them abruptly cut off his pinky finger with a knife before shoving the finger up the other man's nose.

"When we get that money reward, I say we split it among us because I think I'm going to donate my cut to clean this place up." Willow stated while the duo continued following the scouts. "What about you, Amity?"

"Probably a nice date with Luz." Amity replied dreamily. "I'll have to ask her where we should go."

"Hey, uh, no offense Amity," Willow said while trying to sound as neutral as she could. "but don't you think you often sound like Luz has become your whole world now? Especially ironic since the first time you met, she almost died because of you."

"Yeah, we got off on the wrong foot like no tomorrow, but can you blame me?" Amity responded with a blush. "Luz is one of the first people in ages to show me kindness! Plus, she's pulled me out of trouble more times than I can count, like the incident at the library."

"You do raise a good point." Willow nodded. "She does have a knack for turning enemies into friends."

"Hey, did you hear that?" one of the nearby coven scouts asked, eliciting squeaks of fear from the girls as they hid using an invisibility glyph. "Could've sworn I heard someone talking about libraries and junk."

"You're probably just imagining things." Another scout replied. "Come on. Our order should be ready right about now."

"Order for what?" Amity wondered before turning to her friend turned victim turned friend again. "Come on, let's keep following them."

"I think I should lead the way this time." Willow suggested, nudging Amity out the way and leading her to where the scouts from earlier conversed with a blacksmith.

"Do you have the metal we want?" the first scout asked the smith.

"Yeah, all ready for you, girlfriend!" the rather effeminate blacksmith replied while revealing a massive metal wing fresh from the foundry. "Careful now. It's a little hot."

"What do they need wings for?" Willow tilted her head curiously while snapping a photo of the wing to show the others later. "Maybe Sly will know what they're doing."

"Good, now let's get out of here before we're found out." Amity said as the two witchlings slowly snuck away from the blacksmith and the scouts.

JOB COMPLETE

Job: Factory Search

Blight Industries, 4:45 pm

"And this is where the magic happens!" Odalia dramatically introduced the Blight Industries factory to Bentley, Murray, Dimitri, Eda, Lilith, and King. "Try not to touch anything. Or break anything. As a matter of fact, don't do anything for the duration of this tour!"

"Try and take anything she won't notice isn't nailed down." Eda whispered to King and Dimitri. "We take this to our graves." Dimitri nodded with a mischievous grin as he and the little demon scampered off under Eda's commands.

"If we are to be ready for whatever Sludgios has planned, we must increase the factory security." Bentley stated as he looked around the facility. "Luckily, I can build the highest-caliber security system for you, if that's okay."

"I'd be happy to help with that, Bentley." Alador agreed to the suggestion.

"Good, I'm going to need a few more parts for me to put this together." Bentley said before presenting the parts he needed. "I figure they could be found around the factory, so do me a favor and look for them while we get things started."

"So, we're finding more junk again?" King wondered while trying to hide the things he stole from the factory. "Hopefully, this doesn't become a recurring thing on our capers."

"Oh, what do you know? King's got some right here!" Bentley exclaimed as one of his mechanical arms plucked some of King's loot from the little guy's back. "Here, we have a three and three-fourths hexagonal washer and a locacaca battery."

"Dangit, Bentley, you blew our cover!" Eda complained. "I was gonna sell this stuff on the market, but I guess you might need this as well."

"And I'll be taking these, thank you very much." Odalia added as she snatched Dimitri's loot out of his hands. "My hands are already full with dealing with criminals. I don't need any of you making things worse."

"Spoilsport." Dimitri scoffed and put his hands in his pockets while he, Lilith, and Edric & Emira walked away to look for parts, which he took as an opportunity to get closer to his crush. "So, doing anything lately?"

"Well, I've recently applied for a job as curator at the Supernatural Museum of History." Lilith answered. "I was the head historian of the Emperor's Coven, so now that I have no magic, I felt like putting some of my other skills to good use."

"Hm, you'd rock the cute librarian look." Dimitri responded seductively, making Lilith blush a bit.

"Oh, you think I'm cute?" Lilith laughed nervously before she started walking away from the lizard.

"Come on, wasn't it obvious?!" Dimitri hollered back at the dark-haired witch, but she was too awkward & nervous to respond. "Playing hard to get, I like that."

"Got a thing for Miss Lilith, huh?" Edric asked Dimitri.

"Hey, I was a real Casanova back in my world!" Dimitri proudly declared. "I mean, I got the looks, the charm, any babe just falls into my lap!"

"Yeah, but I think she might not be into you." Emira responded smoothly. "I mean, she's a witch. You're a big lizard man."

"Hey, iguana, thank you very much!" Dimitri corrected the girl before he found Eda waving to him. "Hey, what up?!"

"Find anything yet?" Eda called to Dimitri as she searched with Murray and King.

"I'm finding new things about your sis!" Dimitri yelled back. "Hey, you in the market for a brother-in-law?"

"In your dreams, purple man!" Eda laughed uproariously. "But in all seriousness, I don't think you're her type."

"Aw, come on, I'm plenty of types!" Dimitri replied defensively when he noticed that Lilith was still nearby. "Okay, time to cut this short, later!"

"Hee hee, that lizard has no chance." Eda muttered jokingly to herself before returning to her search.

"What did you do that for?" Murray asked the cursed witch. "I think Dimitri and Lilith would be pretty cute together."

"Thing is, Dimitri ain't all that different from the other guys into Lily that I had to turn down for her." Eda regaled a story from her past. "She just wasn't compatible with them?"

"How so?" King wondered.

"What, she more into girls or something?" Murray added. "If so, the Murray ain't gonna judge her for who she likes. He will teach that to all the kids of the Isles!"

"You're a big dork, Murray; you know that?" Eda chuckled as she picked up another part Bentley needed. "Hey, this seems important."

"Ooh, let me see!" King exclaimed as he scuttled around Murray's shoulders to find his adopted mother holding a big bulb device. "What is that?"

"I don't know, but it looks like something Al and Bentley would want." Eda answered before stuffing the bulb in her hair. "Got anything else they can use?"

"I got six wingnuts." Murray pulled some nuts out of his pockets, then turned to King. "What do you have, King?"

"Just got some wires, a circuit board, and a spring." King added some of his findings. "What will any of these do for a security system?"

"I don't know. We gotta trust Bentley, I guess." Murray replied as the trio began returning to Bentley and the Blights in Alador's workroom. "Hey guys, we found some junk!"

"Excellent, hippo; now please place them on the bench." Odalia ordered, irritating Murray over how he wasn't referred to by name as he did as he was told, as did Lilith's group. "So, what do you expect to build with this?"

"You'll have to bear with me here. Some of this technology I haven't even worked with before!" Bentley replied as he and Alador prepared to work.

"Ditto." Alador added when Eda suddenly got a call.

"Hold on, gang, I think Luz is callin' me." Eda said as she stepped outside to take the call from her new binocucom. "M'yello?"

"Eda, I brought Carmelita back to the Owl House. She says she successfully planted the bug." Luz announced on the other end. "Willow and Amity also got some pictures from their black market investigation, and they think you might find these interesting."

"Roger that, we'll be back when Bentley arms the factory." Eda replied before she hung up and started hearing construction noises from the workroom. Soon, Bentley wheeled out of the room with a series of devices carried by his mechanical arms that he installed all around the factory.

After installing the final device, Bentley began work on hacking the system to allow himself complete control over the factory's new security system. A few minutes later, he was officially in. "And that is how the cookie crumbles!"

"I must admit, you criminals are more skilled than I assumed." Odalia chuckled smugly. "But to repeat myself, our relationship is through once Sludgios is arrested, understand?"

"I am well aware, ma'am." Bentley replied. "But in exchange, you have to give us 1,000,000,000 snails to keep us quiet, which in our currency should possibly equal to…." He then started crunching some numbers and pulled out the results of his research. "Five hundred grand."

"FIVE HUNDRED GRAND?!" Odalia yelled in outrage. "Are you trying to rob me?!"

"Hey, you brought this upon yourself by agreeing." Eda replied before checking her watch. "That reminds me, we gotta jet."

"Yes, Carmelita and Amity should be waiting for us so we can proceed with the mission." Lilith added. "It was nice catching up, as much as most of us didn't want to."

As the Cooper Coven left the Blights in the factory, a small drone was watching the meeting, and it started reporting everything back to its controller.

JOB COMPLETE

The Owl House, 5:30 pm

As soon as everybody regrouped at the Owl House, they began putting the pieces of the Syndicate's plans together on a corkboard titled "WHAT ARE THEY DOING?" with all the pictures Amity and Willow took of the black market pinned up and connected by string.

"Okay, so it's plain to see that Sludgios wants to marry Odalia so he can gain control of Blight Industries." Lilith stated while staring at a picture of Sludigos at the center of the board. "Though why he can't just use the Abomatons is beyond me."

"Plus, the Emperor's Coven has been engaged in shady dealings at Chalmun Port's black market." Carmelita added, pointing out the picture of the massive wing at the blacksmith. "Though for what reason is currently unknown."

"Hey, here comes a thought." Sly asked as he got up to point out the same picture. "You don't think Belos is planning to-"

"Sly, he's gone now." Carmelita cut her boyfriend off with a hand on his shoulder. "You saw me crush the Hate Chip and make the parts wither away and everything."

"Back on topic, if Sludgios gains control of Blight Industries, and by extension all of their wares, he could be unstoppable." Lilith continued. "This is in addition to the fact that he was one of the finest Abomination track students back at Hexside in our days."

"Now, all that's left is to listen for him through the bust." Luz said while Bentley started relaying the Wild Witch Syndicate's goings-on from the Chalmun Port bust to a crystal ball on the coffee table. To everyone's delight, the message sounded crystal clear.

"Here's the sitch, everyone," Oozan began making plans for the Blights on the other end of the line. "we strike Blight at the big weapons demo tonight. We'll have the whole place surrounded. Gomez, Adams, you lock up all the doors and shut off this new-fangled security system they have. No one gets in or out, understand?"

"That's what he thinks." Amity gritted her teeth angrily, but Luz quickly calmed her down.

"Sebastian, you'll be the one to get everyone to stick 'em up, and if anyone talks back, give 'em a time out, if you catch my drift." Sludgios continued his speech. "Jonathan, William, Robert, I'm giving you three a very lofty task."

"What do you need, sir?" one of the mentioned three asked Oozan.

"I want you boys to be my groomsmen for the big wedding." Oozan answered proudly. "Out of all of my goons, I think you guys are some of the most reliable a crook like I could have."

"Aw, he's a good boss!" Hooty said sweetly. However, the heartfelt conversation would quickly take a turn for the worse.

"One more thing." Oozan declared before the Cooper Coven heard him pick up the bust before he started speaking into it. "I know you and your pals are watching me, Cooper. Whatever you want with me, I'll just say I have special plans for you guys."

"I'm sorry, what?" Willow said flatly in comparison to everyone's expressions of shock and confusion.

"But how?!" Carmelita stuttered in terror. "Nobody noticed I was under that uniform!"

"In case you're wondering how I found out, let's just say I got better ears than you can shake a stick at." Oozan proclaimed before letting out a cackle. "See you all tonight." With that, the transmission suddenly cut off, making the heroes assume that he smashed the bust to pieces, causing them to start panicking.

"Did he seriously just find us out?!" Eda yelled. "Oh, we're so screwed now!"

"We have to warn everyone quick!" Murray cried out before turning to Amity. "Quick, Amity, call your folks. They have to know about this!"

"I'm already texting Ed and Em." Amity responded as she tried to keep a cool head in such dire circumstances, but everyone knew she was trying to hide how stressed she was deep down.

"This is bad, this really bad, buddies!" Dimitri yelled as he held tightly onto Lilith for comfort. "What do we do now?!"

"Hey, calm down, everyone." Sly tried his best to ease everyone's nerves. "Oozan may know what we're going to do, but I know one thing he doesn't. We're ready for him. It's go time."

"Looks like we're running on borrowed time, everybody." Bentley announced as he started stirring the scrying potion in the cauldron to give out assignments. "Now that Oozan knows we're planning to sabotage his big proposal, we need all hands on deck to stop it." He then started creating images of each team and their missions. "Sly, I'm giving you, Luz, Amity, Carmelita, Lilith, and Dimitri the task of taking Sludgios head-on. Think of it as like a double date."

"Aw, you're so sweet, Bentley." Luz began giggling.

"Hey, why not make it a triple date?" Dimitri suggested, much to Lilith's embarrassment.

"Eda, you and Murray will handle taking on Sludgios's minions and keeping Willow and me safe while we get some extra intel on Belos's plans." Bentley continued his speech. "Finally, King, Gus, and Hooty will help anyone coming to this weapons demonstration to safety, while providing distractions to keep Oozan's minions at bay."

"We have to move quickly, though." Amity added. "I already have enough trouble with my mom. If I have Sludgy as a dad, I don't know what I'll do with myself."

"Whatever happens, we'll be here for you, Amity." Luz comforted her girlfriend tenderly.

"Does everyone know their assignments?" Bentley stated. "Good, time to begin Operation: Beauty and the Beast!"

Job: Operation: Beauty and the Beast

Blight Industries, 8:00 pm

Later that night, several hooded figures huddled together as they walked into the Blight Industries factory, where Emira and Edric welcomed them in while casting a few "HEX ME" signs on their backs. However, their mischief was quickly halted when one of the cloaked witches glared at them while clenching his gooey fist before returning to walking.

"I'm in, and they don't suspect a thing." Sludgios whispered to his men through a crow phone. "Any updates on those cameras?"

"Working on it, boss." One of Oozan's men answered while investigating the security system Bentley installed earlier. "What is this stuff? Doesn't look like anything I've seen."

"Naw, I'm pretty sure I saw junk like this coming out of a trash slug, or at that human stuff stand." Another one of the thugs replied. "Man, I miss that place."

"We can get nostalgic later!" Oozan yelled to his two subordinates. "Make sure all the Abominations are in order, maggots!"

"Yes, sir!" the two criminals declared before they turned to the Abominations accompanying their boss. However, they were a little too dense to realize that one of them just didn't seem right.

Earlier

"Really takes me back to when I first came to Hexside, eh guys?" Luz said to Amity, Willow, and Gus while taking a dip in some Abomination sludge.

"Heck yeah, it does!" Gus exclaimed. "So, what's this supposed to do?"

"Judging by what Willow said, a dip in some Abomination sludge was able to make a perfect disguise for Luz." Sly responded before he scooped out a handful to inspect. "What do you suppose this stuff tastes like?"

"I wouldn't answer that myself if I were you." Eda replied to the thief. "It's edible, but don't go expecting it to taste good."

"Hey, I'll try anything once." Sly disagreed and gave the sludge a lick, only to gag as quickly as he spat it out. "You were right; this tastes awful! What's in this garbage?!"

"Like I said, you don't want to know." Eda giggled at Sly's expense before she knelt and grabbed Luz by the shoulders. "Good luck out there, kid."

Now

"Hey, is it me, or does one of these look a little off to you?" one of Oozan's goons asked while examining the disguised Luz with a suspicious glare, making the human-turned-Abomination very uncomfortable in his presence. "Abomination, bow!" Believing the goon was talking to them, the other Abominations bowed at his command. "No, you idiots, I was talking to the shrimpy one!"

Luz then immediately took a bow, amazing the grunt. "Wow, little thing is getting it right." He nodded in satisfaction. "Abomination, speak."

"Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers!" Luz declared with a nervous grin.

"Loving this so far!" the goon grinned back before his coworker walked up to him.

"Uh, who's Peter Piper, and why does he want peppers?" the other stooge asked. As Luz distracted the two minions, Eda, Murray, Bentley, and Willow crept in through a backdoor beneath the pair's notice.

"How are they possibly buying this?" Bentley wondered quietly. "How did anyone at Hexside not realize she was a human?"

"People are dumb, Bents, just gotta accept it." Eda smirked when she noticed a group of Abominations interfering with the security system. "Oh no, that ain't good!"

"How were they not noticed?!" Bentley smacked his face in irritation. "Oozan should've set off the alarms by now!"

"Or maybe someone already hacked them." Willow drew her conclusion.

"And I think I know who." Murray said as he found a note addressed to Bentley that he started reading. "Dear Bentley, did you think you were one step ahead of me, "old friend"? I was watching you set up those cameras through my drone. Let's see you top that. "Love", Penelope. And then there's some evil laughter in parenthesis at the bottom."

"Well, we're officially doomed." Eda groaned in defeat. "Come on, Sly, don't fail us now!"

"Welcome investors to a special Blight Industries demonstration." Odalia declared to her cloaked audience as the show began. "Tonight, we have quite the selection of armaments that will surely catch your eye."

"Oh, I got my eye on more than just your tools." Oozan chuckled to himself as Odalia continued showing off her wares, before he turned to see another possible investor with a big striped tail looking at him. "What are you looking at, stripey?" The other being in the cloak turned away from Oozan to look at four other people in cloaks, two of them also having tails while one was a lot shorter than the others.

"Now then, any takers?" Odalia offered as she presented a grenade that would spawn an Abomination upon exploding.

"I'd like to make a purchase!" Oozan raised his goopy hand, catching the crowd's and the Blights' attention as he walked up to the stage and took Odalia's hand. "I'd like to purchase your hand in marriage."

"You!" Odalia yelled as Oozan dramatically took off his cloak and revealed himself to the audience while giving orders.

"Alright, this is a stickup, everyone on your knees!" Oozan started barking at the audience as they nervously did as he ordered. "All troops, lock up this whole establishment! No one gets out until she says yes!"

"It was just as Amity warned." Alador muttered before he mustered the courage to stand up to his old friend. "Sludgios! We need to talk!"

"Oh, Al, you poor thing." Oozan said with fake comfort towards his rejected brother in arms. "I didn't mean to get you stuck in this whole mess. We can work things out. I can ever make you the cool uncle."

"Cool uncle?" Alador replied angrily. "You would threaten the innocent just to win the heart of a crush who isn't interested in you anymore, and yet you think everything will be alright if I became merely a cool uncle?"

"I'm just saying, you're wasting your time with Odie. Your potential is needed elsewhere!" Oozan argued with his former friend. "I, on the other hand, have been honing my craft for ages, free from this stupid coven system that has been oppressing us wild witches for decades! And now, once all these wonderful toys are mine to control, I'll start the greatest damn war this realm has ever seen! Not even Belos will be able to stop the Syndicate once the Day of Unity rolls around!"

"And you're also willing to take over my family to start a war?!" Odalia joined in on the debate. "You should know why you're not my type!"

"I have to agree, dear." Alador concurred with his wife. "Oozan, I'm afraid we're through."

Oozan couldn't believe what he had just heard. Alador Blight, the man who was like a brother to him in Hexside before betraying him for the well-to-do girl he had a crush on even today, had just called off their friendship in favor of backstabbing him for a woman who only saw him as a tool to her success. Instead of going ballistic and starting a tantrum, Sludgios just kept his cool while taking one last puff from his cigar and throwing it away. "So, we're only now through, eh?" he growled calmly, though his twitching eye and the blade his prosthetic arm formed gave off the impression he was ready to explode at any moment. "I was content with letting you speak now, Al, but now it's time to forever hold your peace."

"Okay, dropping all pretenses." The stripe-tailed cloaked man declared as he tossed off his disguise to reveal Sly Cooper underneath, followed by Amity, Carmelita, Dimitri, and Lilith taking off their cloaks before the five of them huddled together to strike cool poses.

"Amity!" Odalia cried in relief. "Please do your mommy a favor and save me from this monster!"

"Wait, Sly Cooper?!" Oozan gasped when he made the connections and pulled out his crow phone. "You idiots, Sly Cooper is here, which means that the human isn't far behind!"

"Wait, where's the human?!" one of his mooks exclaimed on the other end.

"I think the abomination is just her in a bad disguise!" the other crook replied.

"Hey, this is a great disguise!" Luz talked back to the older witch. "Nobody at Hexside was able to suspect a thing!" Before she could continue, Sludgios used his blade to tear down the Blight Industries banner behind him and the adult Blights, revealing not just Luz on the other side but Eda, Murray, Bentley, and Willow as well. "Oh no."

"Luz!" Amity yelled for her girlfriend before Sludgios commanded some Abominations to seize the entire Cooper Coven and bring them to him on the stage. In the process, King, Gus, Hooty, and the twins were also exposed to the crowd and brought to the stage with their teammates.

"Well, well, well, looks like the gang's all here." Oozan said smugly at the gathered team. "I'm surprised you tried to plan your way around me, but you should know I'm far craftier than you think."

"You won't get away with this!" Carmelita yelled while pointing her shock pistol at Oozan. "Under my jurisdiction, you one-armed puta, I place you under arrest!"

"What's that little thing gonna do?" Sludgy smirked. "It doesn't even have any ammo!" Carmelita quickly proved him wrong with one electrifying shot from her pistol sending the crime boss falling off the stage with a yell.

"Okay, things are not going the way we expected, but our original plan can still work!" Bentley declared. "Sly, Luz, your double date is still a go! Eda, Murray, you handle the guards! Gus, you get everyone out of here!"

"Oh no, you don't!" Oozan added as he got up from his fall. "Abominations, seize!" Despite Oozan's orders, his Abominations were quickly dispatched by Eda and Murray as Gus opened the front doors to the factory.

"Okay, everyone, single file!" Gus said to the fleeing investors, though they instead escaped in droves rather than listen to him. "Okay, that works too."

Meanwhile, Bentley and Willow had just gotten off the stage and were fighting off some of Sludgios's thugs while trying to gather intel on the Wild Witch Syndicate as they originally planned.

"Willow, I'm gonna need you to cover for me while I search!" Bentley commanded the plant witch while frisking the unconscious criminals for clues.

"I'm on it, Bentley." Willow grinned as she turned to the advancing minions with her eyes glowing green. "You boys wanna get nuts?" she challenged the criminals. "Come on, let's get nuts!"

"How can she do that?" Bentley muttered in amazement of Willow to himself as he continued searching for intel, eventually leading his search to a scroll in one of the crooks' pockets that had "PROJECT: TICKING CLOCK" written on it. "Ticking Clock? What could that mean?"

"Comin' at ya, Eda!" Murray cried as he hip-checked one of Oozan's goons into the air, allowing Eda to turn into her harpy form and send him crashing to the ground like a volleyball.

"One for you, the Murray!" Eda responded as she snatched a flying Abomination out of the air and tossed it to Murray before he smashed its face into the ground.

As for Sly, he led his team, along with the Blights, to stop Oozan's reign of terror. By now, the factory was close to falling apart and began bursting into flames from all the chaos. Despite this, everyone kept fighting. Oozan pounced around like a wild cat as he faced opposition on all sides. He clashed staves with Lilith, Sly & Luz, went up against the combined Abomination magic of Amity & Alador, outsmarted Emira & Edric's illusions, and was zapped by Dimitri's ring and Carmelita's pistol. Even Odalia had no choice but to get involved with her oracle magic and Abomination weapons.

"Look what your refusal to obey has done to you, Odalia!" Oozan declared. "If you had just said yes, your precious business wouldn't be crumbling to the ground!" He then presented the ring with a menacing smile as he rolled it between his fingers. "It's your choice, milady."

"SNEAK ATTACK!" Dimitri yelled as he attempted to take Sludgios by surprise, only for the boss to grab the iguana by the neck with his abomination arm. "Aw, come on, I totally had you by surprise!"

"No shock. Me too, lizard." Sludgios grinned before he moved his grip to Dimitri's tail and began smashing him to the ground with an evil smile.

"Dimitri!" Lilith cried out for the iguana before Sludgios tossed the lizard aside once he felt satisfied with the beatdown, and she quickly raced to comfort the injured reptile. "Are you hurt?"

"Why yes, Mrs. Lincoln, and how was the play?" Dimitri answered woozily before passing out from the pummeling he received.

"Don't worry, I got this." Emira stated as she took Dimitri's hand and created a spell circle that seemed to restore Dimitri to full health.

"Hey, I feel great!" Dimitri exclaimed as he did some stretches to test his flexibility after being healed. "Wait, I thought you and your bro were illusionists and stuff."

"I happen to dabble a bit in healing magic myself." Emira admitted. "Edric, on the other hand, has a bit of a knack for potions and beast-keeping."

Sludgios paid no mind to Dimitri's recovery as he continued looming over Odalia with the ring in hand. "Pardon the interruption. But my offer still stands, Odie." Suddenly, his abomination arm began bubbling as the ring was submerged in his hand and fired out of it into Amity's hands. "You!"

"I got an idea for you!" Amity threatened. "Leave my family alone, or your precious little ring is toast!"

"Oh, Mittens, my hero!" Odalia sobbed dramatically, much to her youngest daughter's annoyance.

"Ah, an ultimatum. Now you're speaking my language, Amity." Oozan purred in admiration of the prodigy's tenacity. "In that case, let me propose my own." Transforming into a blob of ooze, Oozan charged toward Luz and made her disappear from sight by absorbing her into his mass. Mere seconds later, the Cooper Coven and the Blights found the boss high above them on a steel walkway. "Return the ring to your mother at once, young lady," Oozan commanded Amity while hanging Luz by her hood over a vat of Abomination goo. "or your little friend here gets a swimming lesson."

"You wouldn't dare!" Eda snarled protectively as she flew up to corner her old classmate.

"Oh, you bet I dare!" Oozan cackled evilly as he moved a finger, making Luz's fate all the direr.

"Guys, help me!" Luz cried for her friends.

"Hang on, Luz; we're coming!" Sly hollered before he and the rest of the gang climbed up the walkway to confront Oozan and save Luz. "Let her go, Sludgios! She's far more capable than you think she is!"

"What, this human?" Oozan sneered at the human he was holding captive while removing another finger. "Don't make me laugh!"

"Oh, you'll be laughing in just a second." Luz smirked before nodding to Sly, who responded by tossing a fire glyph at Oozan that started burning him, making him lose his grip on Luz while Willow raced to her human's friend rescue.

"Well, looks like you're more sneaky than I thought!" Oozan proclaimed as he shrugged off nearly being burned alive. "What else do you got for me?"

"ATTACK!" Dimitri screamed as he tackled Oozan and hoisted him over his head before tossing the boss into the vat below them. "And that was for my face!" Despite taking pride in his attack on Oozan, the former Klaww Gang member turned to see his friends staring at him with a chorus of stunned, confused, and annoyed faces. "What?"

"Dimitri, do you realize what you just threw him into?" Carmelita groaned in annoyance, causing the iguana to look down and see that the goop in the vat has started bubbling.

"Oh, I am error." Dimitri muttered with regret as the goop shot up like a geyser and began drawing all the Abominations in the factory towards it before reconstituting itself into the very distinct form of Oozan Sludgios. He had become a massive Abomination-like beast thanks to Dimitri's assault, and now he was absolutely furious.

"ENOUGH GAMES!" the titanic Abomination roared. "I WILL MARRY ODALIA BLIGHT, EVEN IF IT MEANS KILLING EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU!"

"That's what you think!" Alador exclaimed as he used his magic to restrain Oozan's massive arms. "Bentley, now!"

"On it!" Bentley replied as he began firing sleep darts at the massive Sludgios, tiring the Abomination witch turned literal Abomination and buying the rest of the gang enough time to strike at him. "Okay, everyone, this is it! All hands on deck!"

"Way ahead of you, shellhead!" Eda said as she, Luz, and Lilith pulled out glyphs to use against Oozan, while King let out a mighty roar and Willow summoned a massive vine to give Murray a ride.

"Check me out; I'm Jack on his beanstalk!" Murray declared. "And you're the giant I gotta steal the harp from!" He then smashed Oozan's gooey face in with a mighty punch, causing the Abomination to roar in his face as he tried to snatch Murray off the vine.

Suddenly, Murray was quickly pulled back and replaced by Hooty rising out of Lilith's backpack to peck Oozan in the face. "Look at me, I'm being annoying!"

"Get away from me!" Oozan bellowed while slapping Hooty away. "This can all be avoided if you just step aside!"

"Not on your life!" Carmelita cried as Lilith helped her take to the skies to fire at Oozan with her shock pistol. "Lily, I need to get closer!"

"Roger!" Lilith replied and zoomed faster towards Oozan, allowing Carmelita to fire one big bolt of electricity at the crime boss's face as the duo rammed straight through his head.

However, the victory was only temporary as Oozan's face quickly reformed as he grimaced at Odalia. "I do not appreciate this kind of disrespect your husband and children are giving me, Odalia! You will marry me, no matter what!" He brought down a massive purple fist on the head of Blight Industries, but to his surprise, she's been replaced with an illusion. "What?!"

"Illusion doppelganger, the oldest trick in the book." Odalia confidently said as she emerged from a piece of rubble with the twins and Gus beside her and summoned a specter from her necklace that matched Oozan's monster form in size.

"So, it has to be this way?" Oozan boomed menacingly. "Then so be it!" The two started throwing punches at each other at rapid-fire speeds, keeping Oozan occupied while the team concocted one last plan to bring down Oozan once and for all.

"So, any ideas on how to put this freak to pasture?" Sly asked the Cooper Coven and the Blight family as they huddled together while Oozan was occupied with Odalia's specter.

"I say we freeze him alive!" King suggested eagerly.

"Or maybe we shrink him down to size!" Gus added.

"Wait, I think I know what to do." Amity declared. "When Oozan chased me and Luz out of the Night Market, Sly made a fire glyph into a paper airplane that he threw at this Abomination pursuing us. Why don't we try that again?"

"How poetic." Sly agreed. "Okay, stand back everyone. I'm gonna need some paper and a pen!"

"Mind if I provide?" Bentley offered a sheet of paper and a pen that was basically a smaller version of Sly's cane.

"Is that pen seriously my cane?" Sly laughed as he took both objects from Bentley.

"Yeah, I had it custom-made but never got the chance to give it to you." Bentley explained the pen. "I wanted it to be a birthday present."

"Aw, you're a real peach, Bentley." Sly said as he brought Bentley in for a brief hug before letting go to draw the fire glyph and fold the paper into an airplane. "Okay, girls, I think you should throw it this time."

"I'd be honored to, Sly." Amity readily accepted the offer as she and Luz sat down on Amity's staff to fly off on.

"You two better do it quickly!" Odalia called for the girls. "I don't think my ghost can handle Oozan any longer."

As the lovely couple flew above Oozan, the giant Abomination looked up at the girls and roared. "What do you have planned for me now, little girls?"

"Have a nice flight!" Luz exclaimed as she tossed the glyph airplane, which dived into Sludgios' mouth. As soon as the Abomination giant closed his mouth on the plane, he slowly began bubbling as a result of the fire the glyph created boiling the abomination goop making up his body.

"Oh no, not again!" Sludgios exclaimed just seconds before he completely exploded, coating the entire building with Abomination sludge, including his attempted victims, while the real Sludgios that once controlled it laid unconscious on the stained floor beneath him. "Talk about poetic."

JOB COMPLETE

"Okay big guy, up and at 'em!" Eda said as she and Murray picked up the barely conscious Oozan. "Need to look presentable when the cops arrive."

"And one more thing." Sly added, then he pulled out his signature calling card to give to Sludgios. "Now that we have your Sludgios problem done with, I think you owe us a reward, Mrs. Blight."

"Fine." Odalia groaned in defeat before she handed over a massive sack of snails to the Cooper Coven. "Do with these coppers as you please."

"Thanks, Odie!" Eda thanked her old classmate while licking her lips at the bag of 1,000,000,000 snails. "You know, all this has gotten me a little worn out. Lily, Carms, what do you say we treat ourselves to a little spa day with our profit cut?"

"I could really use some relaxation right now." Carmelita sighed while wiping some Abomination sludge off her shoulder before she heard voices in the distance.

"I saw the explosion from over here!" a coven scout exclaimed, informing the Cooper Coven they needed to make themselves scarce immediately.

"Well, love to stay and chat, madame, but we'll let the cops handle the rest!" Sly grinned to the Blight matriarch, unaware that he was getting another passenger as Oozan's Palisman gripped onto his back.

"It's been nice getting to know you and your friends better, Sly." Alador said as he shook the thief's hand. "I cannot thank you enough for saving our family from Sludgios."

"The pleasure is all ours, Al." Bentley replied to Alador.

"Oh, and if you find that Penelope, tell her I give her my sympathies." Alador added. "It is tragic to see an old friend go mad with jealousy."

"Hey guys, the Emperor's Coven is getting closer!" Murray cried. "We need to scat, now!" And so, the Cooper Coven boarded the van and took off into the night, just as Darius, the Golden Guard, and a few coven scouts entered the ruined factory.

"Oh dear, look at what happened to you, Oozan." Darius shook his head in disgust at Oozan while trying not to get himself dirty. "Tell me, who did this to you?" Rather than wait for his old friend to answer, Darius looked down at Sly's calling card in the wild witch's hands and picked it up with a smile. "Of course he did."

The Owl House, 10:00 am

"The next day, Oozan's arrest made waves across the Isles, and now everyone was talking about the Cooper Coven's war with the Wild Witch Syndicate." Amity narrated to herself. "And while my family is busy picking up the mess he made, I'm off to spend time with my other family."

"Perry Porter here, live from Blight Industries in the aftermath of a failed hostile takeover of the company by Oozan Sludgios, the head of the Wild Witch Syndicate." Gus's father announced on the news as the Cooper Coven watched on the crystal ball the next day. As Perry gave a rundown of last night's events, with Odalia acting hysterical over the incident being the highlight, Amity walked into the Owl House to the delight of her teammates.

"Hey, there's our little champion!" Murray exclaimed and gave Amity a high-five.

"You truly pulled through last night, Amity." Lilith added in admiration of her former student's heroism. "The way you stole that ring from Sludgios sent chills down my spine!"

"Thanks, everyone." Amity blushed gratefully when she realized she still had Oozan's ring in her pocket. "Oh, one more thing. Hooty?" she declared after pulling it out.

"Snacktime!" Hooty cheered before he snatched the ring from Amity's hand and swallowed it whole. "Mm, tastes like manipulation!"

"So, any ideas on what to do with our money?" King asked while looking at the sack of snails.

"I think we should try splitting it evenly among us." Carmelita suggested. "After all, I got a spa day planned with the sisters."

"And I'm thinking of taking Luz on a date." Amity added, making her human girlfriend giggle.

"And I want to donate the money to Chalmun Port." Willow proclaimed.

"Me, I think Gus, King, and I are gonna break into the nearest fancy restaurant and humiliate the staff by pretending to be snobby food critics." Dimitri suggested slyly when he noticed something hanging onto Sly's tail. "Yo, Sly, got something on you."

"Wait, really?" Sly wondered and plucked Sludgios' Palisman, Ace, off his tail. "Now, where did you come from, little guy?" Ace began growling, but unfortunately for the Gila monster, Sly could not understand him. "Hey, anyone speaks Palisman here?"

"Hang on, allow me to translate." Bentley said before he pulled up a monitor to decipher Ace's noises. "Huh, he's saying he hitched a ride with you because if Sludgios failed, the emperor would do something horrible to him."

"Belos was gonna kill Ace and drink the essence inside him." Luz observed, thinking back to the field trip to Belos's castle where she spied on the emperor breaking open a Palisman to consume the fluids within. "He's been doing this to Palismen for some reason, and if we find any owned by the Wild Witch Syndicate, we should find them a good home so they don't suffer that same fate."

"Like the Bat Queen!" King realized. "Hey, do we still have her whistle somewhere?"

"Yep, just be warned. It might be covered in hair." Eda responded before she plucked a strange whistle out of her hair to blow into, causing a loud thump to be heard from inside the Owl House. "Anyone wanna get that?"

"I'll do it!" Murray announced and trotted over to open the door, where he was greeted by a large head with bat wings staring right at him. "Whoa! Giant head!"

"Hello there, I am the Bat Queen, protector of Palismen." The head introduced herself in an Italian accent. "Now, who blew the whistle?"

"I did, hey BQ." Eda said. "We got a little Palisman here that might need a good home."

"Go on, squirt. I think she might be good people." Sly said to the Gila monster as he crawled over to the Bat Queen.

"Hm, Ace here says he was Palisman to terrible crime boss, and came here because the emperor would've eaten him." The Bat Queen said. "Do not worry, Ace. I shall find you good home."

"Thanks for the help Bat Queen." Luz thanked the Bat Queen. "If we find any of the Wild Witch Syndicate's Palismen in danger, we'll know where to find you."

"You are very welcome." The Bat Queen smiled before she flew off with Ace holding onto her head, leaving the Cooper Coven hopeful that Ace would find a new owner.

"So, giant flying head with Italian accent." Dimitri remarked. "Didn't see that coming."

"Dimitri, you're hanging with witches now, and that's the strangest thing you've seen yet?" King asked.

"Oh please, pretty sure I haven't seen it all just yet." Dimitri scoffed. "Now, who's ready to start spending?!" The rest of the Cooper Coven started cheering in agreement as they walked back inside to split up their winnings.

The gang split up for the rest of the day to spend the money they each received. Sly & Murray served as Luz & Amity's wingmen while spending time at the theater. Carmelita got a taste of how painful spa treatments in the Demon Realm were compared to Earth while spending her spa day with Eda & Lilith. Gus, Dimitri & King infiltrated a fancy restaurant as planned. Finally, Willow & Bentley gave their money to the people of Chalmun Port to hopefully clean up the town. But while the Cooper Coven celebrated their first victory against the Syndicate, the band of wild witches had just learned of their boss's failure.

The Emperor's Castle, 1:00 pm

"Well, witches, as I'm sure you're aware, Mr. Sludgios has been defeated by the Cooper Coven and is currently imprisoned at the Conformatorium." Penelope announced to the remaining members of the Wild Witch Syndicate in a conference room later that day. "The emperor is most displeased with this, and hopes it can set an example for you to do better than your boss."

"Done in by a bunch of teenagers." Mixzela shook her head in disbelief. "Can't find a more humiliating way to be defeated, I'll tell you that."

As the witches began conversing with each other while Penelope left, the mouse started thinking about the Cooper Coven that had foiled Sludgios's plans, and a certain couple stood out to her in particular as a drone delivered to her a picture of Luz and Amity. "Look at those two, so happy together. What do they have that Bentley and I don't?"

"Maybe they treat each other with respect, and neither won't turn traitor for the stupidest of reasons?" a childish voice mocked Penelope while a shadow-like entity appeared on the wall next to her. "Hi, Penny!"

"What do you want now, Collector?" Penelope scoffed at the childish being confronting her.

"I just came here to keep you company while you mope about your lost boyfriend!" the Collector answered. "But let's be real, you're just jealous because they're so happy together, and you can't find love without being so insidious!"

"Okay, that's enough!" Penelope yelled at the Collector. "And it's not like you're one to talk! I bet when Belos finally frees you on the Day of Unity, he'll just throw you out like all the other pieces of trash he saw as no longer useful to him! Like those previous Golden Guards, for example."

"Don't you dare say that!" the Collector scolded the Emperor's chief inventor. "Phil's my friend, and nothing will change that!"

"You keep telling yourself that." Penelope said while looking at more photos from her drone. "I want posters for Luz's friends immediately. And step on it!" The drone obeyed and began printing out wanted posters for Willow, Gus, and Amity, each of them with their own epithet and bounty.

Willow was given the epithet "Gentle Gardener," and her bounty was now 5,000,000 snails. Gus's epithet was "Prodigal Illusionist," with a bounty of 4,000,000 snails. Finally, Amity was dubbed "Heiress" with a bounty of 5,000,000,000 snails.

"Thank you." Penelope said to the drone while patting it on its head. "That will be all, and the same goes for you too, Collector."

"Okay, but I know deep down you miss him!" the Collector laughed as he faded away, once again leaving Penelope alone in the castle halls as she pulled out an old picture of her and Bentley to gaze at nostalgically, a few tears dropping onto the photo.

Penelope put the photo away with a heavy sigh before she kept walking, unaware that Kikimora was eavesdropping on her argument with the Collector. "Penelope's right. That Collector won't last long."

Meanwhile, in the castle's bowels, Belos continued work on the portal to the human realm as the inactive frame of Clockwerk watched motionlessly. "Making yourself at home, Cloh-Wreh?"

"I have abandoned that name long ago." Clockwerk growled metallically. "Slytunkhamen gave me the name Clockwerk because he couldn't get it right, and I stuck with it since. I must thank you for reviving me, Mr. Wittebane, but it seems I cannot move at all." He continued. "I can only see, hear and speak."

"Don't you fret, Clockwerk." The man formerly known as Philip Wittebane assured the immortal enemy of the Coopers. "I already have plans to find you a vessel." He looked towards the blueprints detailing Clockwerk's reconstruction, particularly the sketch of Eda comparing her size to the owl with writing between them saying, "FEED CLAWTHRONE TO CLOCKWERK." Belos then smiled evilly. "But now, I say we wait."

Chapter Text

Sly Cooper: Boiling Blood

Chapter 6: Taste of a Potion Paradise

The Conformatorium, 12:00pm

Deep within the confines of the Conformatorium, Oozan Sludgios sat quietly in his prison cell, eyes bloodshot from rage and down an arm with the destruction of his gooey prosthetic. But despite his unforgiving rage at his loss at the hands of the Cooper Coven, Oozan knew that even without their leader as a guiding hand in both senses, the Wild Witch Syndicate would remain strong against their enemies.

"With Oozan behind bars and the Blight family safe from his control, we all took some time to celebrate." Sly monologued to himself. "But make no mistake, the rest of the Wild Witch Syndicate was still out there, and it was our duty to take them down and put a stop to whatever evil plot Emperor Belos had in store for us."

Meanwhile, at an upper-class spa, Eda used her cut of the money the Blights gave the team as a begrudging thanks for protecting them from Sludgios to bribe her, Lilith, and Carmelita's way in for a full treatment. However, as much as Carmelita was excited to take a load off after the harrowing events of the past couple of days, she would quickly learn just how different self-care in the Demon Realm was compared to her world.

"Oh, mi espalda." Carmelita groaned in exhaustion as she and the Clawthorne sisters sank into the hot spring, all wrapped in towels. "Who would've guessed this spa was so painful? I feel like they ripped out my spine during the massage!"

"I'm gonna tell her." Eda whispered to Lilith with an evil giggle.

"Don't you dare." Lilith chided her younger sister. "Regardless of our rather unorthodox methods, you must admit that after that harrowing battle with Oozan, it's nice for all of us to get a break for once."

"Indeed." Carmelita sighed as she sank deeper into the hot spring's water, only for something to pinch her tail. "Ow!"

"Oh, that's Clancy, he gets all those knots in your back out with his claws." Eda laughed as the Interpol officer fished a crablike critter from the springs. "Probably should've warned you."

"Hey Bentley, what are you looking at?" Willow asked Bentley as they donated their cut of the Blights' reward money to Chalmun Port in the hopes that they'd clean up the criminal town.

"Just examining this scroll I got from one of Oozan's goons during the attack," Bentley said as he intently examined the paper. "Any idea what Project Ticking Clock could mean?"

"Why don't we open it and find out?" Willow suggested. Unfortunately, just as the two were about to open the scroll and learn the secrets of whatever Project Ticking Clock was, the scroll suddenly caught fire and burned to ash in Willow's hands. "Darn it!"

"Looks like Belos doesn't want us learning about this project, whatever it is." Bentley theorized. "Wonder how the others are doing?"

"This fish is RAAAW!" Dimitri complained to the chef of a ritzy restaurant that he, Gus, and King had broken into with their money. "And where is the lamb sauce?!"

"Man, being an obnoxious food critic is awesome!" King cackled while perched on a highchair. "Hey bubby, what's taking the breadsticks so long?!"

"They're coming as quickly as we can make them, sir." A waiter peeped nervously. "Please have mercy on us!"

"And another thing, my good sir!" Gus proclaimed in a goofy accent. "There is a fly in my soup!"

"Really?" another waiter wondered. "Our fly soups are normally so full of them."

"That's my point!" Gus replied. "There is exactly one fly in my soup when there should be dozens." He picked up the soup bowl and threw it in the waiter's face. "Do it again!"

"Just a few more years, Gordon, then you can finally have the job of your dreams." The waiter grumbled angrily as he marched away to correct Gus's order.

"Sly, check this out, Luz is going for it!" Murray whispered to Sly as he watched Luz and Amity through a pair of opera glasses at the theater. Sly briefly looked up from the yearbook he was looking at to catch a glimpse of Luz as she stretched her arms and wrapped one of them around Amity. "The old stretching your arm around someone's neck trick, so adorable!"

"Yeah, cute, right." Sly muttered while getting back to reading. "Sorry if I don't seem interested, I'm just too busy pondering our next target."

"And that would happen to be Mixzela Glass." Sly narrated as he stared at a photo of Mixzela as a student of Hexside, imagining her pouring potions together, which caused a massive explosion, and she started laughing. "Much like Oozan, Mixzela was another student of Hexside from Eda and Lilith's era. Though she was a genius potion-maker, Mixzela's eccentricity and penchant for chaos made her look like the weird kid to her classmates, all except for Eda."

As a young Eda and Mixzela used potions to cause all sorts of havoc, Sly continued monologuing. "The two of them were basically unbeatable together, but Eda still had a few more morals than Mixzela, though, who only thrived on causing mischief with no regard for the safety of others or even her own well-being. That all changed one faithful day."

"Just think, with one drop of these grounded-up sleeping nettles, Mrs. Jenkinmeyer will be out like a light!" the young Eda cackled mischievously. "Then I won't have to make up an excuse for why I barely studied!"

"Sleeping, you say?" Mixzela grinned. "Sleeping's a little too temporary, I was thinking more along the lines of these." She pulled out a bag of strange purple flower-shaped herbs that burped a noxious gas, making Eda's eyes widen in shock at what her partner in crime was implying.

"Are those burple nurples?! Those are poisonous!" Eda gasped. "You're planning on killing her, aren't you?"

"Of course, I am!" Mixzela declared. "That old hag never believed in the potential I held in my big brain; she never gave me any kind of credit for my genius work!"

"Listen, Jenkinmeyer is an old codger, but I think you're being overdramatic here," Eda said awkwardly just as she saw Lilith barge into the room. "Lilith, this isn't what it looks like!"

"I've been wondering where you went, Eda!" Lilith panted before she found what Mixzela was holding. "Wait, is that a burple nurple? Mixie, you know how dangerous those are!"

"That's the idea!" Mixzela laughed like a mad scientist, unknowingly adding an even deadlier ingredient to the concoction, an elixir labeled Chemical X. "And now, for the final ingredient!"

"Unfortunately for Mixzela, that would be the last thing she ever did before her life was changed forever." Sly narrated before there was a massive explosion that sent the younger Clawthorne sisters flying out of the room. "With Mixzela at ground zero of the incident, her fate was left unknown for just a few moments until the three girls made a shocking discovery."

Mixzela let out a loud cough as she brushed away the smoke and emerged as a changed girl. Once a fair-skinned, brown-haired witch, Mixzela's skin was turned a bright orange and her hair was dyed purple from the mixture of burple nurples and Chemical X. "Chemical X, I should've known! Why do I even keep that around?!"

"Mixie!" Eda cried as she wrapped her friend in a tight hug, relieved that she was still alive before discovering her current appearance. "Uh, Mixie, something seems wrong with you."

"Eda was right, something did change about Mixzela." Sly continued narrating as Mixzela discovered how much the explosion had changed her. "While her change in appearance didn't change much about her classmates' opinions on her, it opened Mixzela's eyes to the true destructive potential of her potions."

Mixzela was then shown committing various crimes and acts of terrorism across the Boiling Isles with her devastating knowledge of potions. "After graduating Hexside and beginning her new life as a wild witch on the run from Belos, Mixzela garnered a high bounty from poisoning upper-class witches, causing mass hysteria with her explosive potions every Coven Day, and generally acting as a full-on terrorist motivated by only one thing: mass destruction for no other reason than a cheap laugh." Finally, Mixzela stood alongside Oozan Sludgios as the two shook hands, as if they had just made a deal. "Eventually, this landed her a membership in the Wild Witch Syndicate as their chief scientist and demolitions expert."

Sly finished his monologue and closed the yearbook as he and Murray continued spying on Luz and Amity. "Whatever Mixzela has planned, it's up to us to stop her in her tracks."

SLY COOPER AND LUZ NOCEDA IN:

TASTE OF A POTION PARADISE

The Owl House, 4:15pm

Once the team reunited at the Owl House, everyone immediately began planning their attack on Mixzela. However, since she was so gifted in potions, they needed someone who could be a match for her.

"Alright, everyone, listen up," Bentley announced while stirring the scrying spell to present an image of Mixzela in the cauldron. "If we are to bring Mixzela to justice before she can kill anyone with her potions, we need somebody who can provide us with our own potions to counter her. Any suggestions?"

"Bents, I'm gonna be real with you here," Eda stated. "Lilith and I are standing right next to you. Potions was our track back in Hexside, just let us do the heavy lifting from here!"

"No offense, Miss Eda, but I have not seen you brew a single potion." Amity commented.

"Yeah, I'm gonna have to agree with Amity on that one." Luz added. "We haven't done that much potion-making, what with fighting Belos and trying to survive before the Day of Unity."

"Okay, you raise a good point there, girls." Lilith concurred with the happy couple. "Any other ideas?"

"Well, we could find Barcus." Sly suggested while Bentley conjured an image of the dog-like demon in the cauldron. "I think he knows a thing or two about potions."

"Wait, ain't he a dog?" Dimitri asked.

"It's very unclear." Murray replied when he suddenly got an idea. "Wait, I think I got it! How about that Boscha girl that threatened Sly back at Hexside?!"

"You're kidding, right?" Willow flatly said. "Boscha?"

"I don't know if you realized, Murray, but Boscha doesn't really get along with us." Gus stated as Bentley stirred up an image of Boscha pinning Sly against the wall for his insensitive comment about her eyes. "She'd rather jump off a cliff than work with us!"

"As much as I would want to see that happen, how can we possibly convince her?" Luz asked.

"Don't worry, the Murray can serve as a gentle, comforting hand to guide Boscha on the right path." Murray proclaimed, while taking the ladle to stir up an image of Murray and Boscha wearing dorky grins on their faces, giving each other a big thumbs up. "Okay, guys, let's get to work!"

Job: Recruitment Drive

Grimgrub's Pub, 4:30pm

Sly and Murray lurked in a dark corner of Grimgrub's Pub, watching as Boscha talked in the breeze with some friends of hers over some pints of apple blood. "Wow, I can't believe they let kids into this establishment." Murray muttered to himself while trying to hide his face by looking at the menu. "What's the drinking age like in this world?"

"Heck if I know, Murray." Sly shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, you know what to do, Murray. Just walk up to Boscha and be as friendly as possible, but not too friendly to the point that you creep her out. Got that?"

"You really think I'm the kind of guy to creep people out?" Murray asked Sly. "I'm the friendliest fellow you could ever meet! Provided that they are nice to me in return, that is, then The Murray is gonna have to throw some hands."

"Go get 'em, tiger," Sly smirked as he pushed Murray forward, cuing the hippo to march towards the table Boscha and her posse were sitting at. "This can only end so well." He added before turning his attention to a waiter. "Uh, waiter! I'll have some of this Flaming Moe, please! And make it extra hot too."

Meanwhile, Murray put on his best winning smile as he marched towards Boscha's group with a spring in his step. "Hey kids, my name's Murray! My friend and I saw you from across the bar, and we really dig your vibe. Wanna join our crew and go on wacky & exciting adventures together while forming an unbreakable friendship like no other?"

"Hey, aren't you that giant hippo man that beat up the Golden Guard?" Boscha asked curtly, causing Murray to break out in a sweat.

"Aw dangit, she's onto me! Quick, play it cool!" Murray muttered to himself while trying to think of a lie. "Uh, what giant hippo?" he asked sheepishly before adding to himself, "Not that dumb!"

"Look, Murray was it?" Boscha asked sardonically while standing up on the table to look Murray in the eyes. "I'm sorry, but if you want me to join that little club Luz and the raccoon are forming, it's going to take way more than just talking to me. Speaking of which, I'm sure your friend must be with you right now, right?"

"Whoo, they weren't kidding when they called it the Flaming Moe!" Sly exclaimed while gulping down some water to cool down after drinking the Flaming Moe he ordered earlier. "That had a real fiery kick to it!" He let out a laugh before glaring at Boscha. "Hello, Boscha."

"Sly Cooper, you have some nerve showing your face around me after that stunt you pulled at Hexside." Boscha responded icily before hopping off the table to speak with Sly.

"You have a lot of nerve being alive!" Sly argued back, making Murray, Amelia, Kat, and Skara mutter "ooooh" in response. "But as much as I want to knock you off your throne, your royal highness, Murray and I have come here because we need your help." He stated. "You see, we're facing off against a criminal organization of wild witches in service to the emperor, and each member has a very particular skill in a certain kind of magic. We already took down their leader, who uses Abomination magic, so now we're targeting Mixzela Glass, who's skilled in potion magic. We ran through a few choices, but unfortunately, it seems like you might be our best option. Would you be willing to join us in our crusade to save the Isles from the Syndicate?"

The four young witches were silent for a moment before Boscha began laughing in disbelief, followed by her ordering her gal-pals to start laughing along with her. "Wow, you really are that stupid!" Boscha guffawed. "Do you even have the slightest idea what challenging the Emperor would be like, especially for a wanted criminal like you?!" Sly began blushing in embarrassment while other pub patrons began awkwardly staring at him. "Why don't you run along back to your other dumb friends and their suicide mission?"

"Murray, would it be wrong to punch a child?" Sly asked Murray while resisting the urge to punch Boscha in her third eye.

"Hang on, Sly, let me handle this." Murray calmed his best friend down, opting for diplomacy over violence in dealing with the bully. "Look, Boschy, can I call you Boschy? I've heard you have a reputation for being pretty nasty towards anyone who doesn't orbit around you, but I know bullies. A lot of the time, some bullies use violence and disrespect to hide their true insecurities." He then grabbed Boscha by her hips and sat her down on his knee. "Tell Murray what ails ya, kiddo. Rough home life? Lost a friend or two? Low self-esteem and a need to be validated that causes you to feel like you don't belong?" The last question struck a chord in Boscha, who then started blushing awkwardly, implying to Murray that he finally got through to her. "Ah, there it is! See, Uncle Murray is always there to lend a hand!"

"Shut up!" Boscha yelled as she jumped off Murray's knee, trying to hide the fact that she genuinely felt touched by the hippo's calming advice. "Okay, fine, I'll join your stupid little gang, Cooper, but on one condition!"

"Well, it's about time." Sly smirked while folding his arms. "What's the catch?"

"First off, don't mention this to anybody else at Hexside. I have a reputation to uphold." Boscha replied. "Second, and most importantly, if you want me to join your little club, you gotta beat me in Grudgby."

"It's a deal." Sly declared as the two rivals shook hands. "Meet us at the Owl House in one hour. Be there or be square!"

"We'll see who's the real square here," Boscha smirked devilishly before she and her posse left the pub.

"Well, Murray, looks like your whole good role model schtick is starting to pay off." Sly proclaimed to the muscle of his gang while resting his feet on the table.

"Awesome!" Murray cheered. "Hey, uh, quick question, Sly. What's Grudgby?"

JOB COMPLETE

The Owl House, 4:45pm

"Grudgby is actually pretty straightforward," Bentley explained as he read from a dusty old rulebook. "In most cases, two teams of three players must get the ball to the opponent's goal, and whoever scores the most points wins."

"So it's like football or soccer then?" Sly nodded. "This should be pretty easy."

"But there's a catch, boys." Bentley continued. "Any kind of magic is permitted for use in helping your team score, which makes the sport all the more unpredictable."

"And given how super-competitive Boscha can be in Grudgby, you guys better watch your backs." Luz added. "Luckily, we do have a few Grudgby experts in the house with us." She then turned to Amity. "Amity, if you please."

"I was actually the Grudgby team captain since Little Leech, until I retired." Amity explained. "But then after Luz challenged Boscha to a Grudgby match, I stepped in to help her out."

"Please, that's nothing compared to me being the star player back in my days!" Eda bragged as she reached into her hair and revealed an old photograph of a younger Eda holding a Grudgby trophy in her hands. "I was basically unbeatable, especially with all the cheats I used to win!"

"I believe you are missing one thing, Eda," Lilith remarked as she unfolded the picture to reveal a young Lilith standing next to an even bigger Grudgby trophy. "That's right, team captain right here!"

"Man, that trophy is huge!" Murray gasped in awe as he examined Lilith's side of the photograph.

"You were both redheads?" Dimitri wondered.

"We're wasting time, everyone. We can look at old photos later!" Bentley exclaimed. "We only have forty-five minutes left before Boscha shows up! Hopefully, that gives us some ample time to train and get the basics of Grudgby down."

Job: Grudgby: A True Underdog Story

Within just a few minutes, the front yard of the Owl House had been converted into a makeshift Grudgby field for the gang to practice on, with Hooty and Bentley serving as referees for the event. On one side were Sly, Murray, and Dimitri, who were willing to practice. However, they were nervous about what they were to expect. On the other end of the field were Grudgby experts Amity, Eda, and Lilith, who all seemed very confident in passing their skills to others.

"You know, Murray, between you and me, maybe having this be our way to recruit Boscha isn't such a great idea." Sly commented. "I don't think I'm quite cut out for Grudgby."

"Aw, quit your worrying, Sly, you'll get used to it eventually." Eda snorted. "In the meantime, THINK FAST!" When Sly expected Eda to throw the ball his way, he instead found himself ducking as a wrench was thrown in his direction, only to get hit by another once he got up. "If you can dodge a wrench, surely you can dodge a ball!"

"Wait a second, are those my wrenches?!" Bentley yelled as Eda poured a bunch of wrenches from a sack she had hidden behind her back.

"Haha, I get it, it's just like the movie!" Dimitri laughed before Eda threw a wrench at his face as well, causing him to wheeze in pain before another hit him straight in the groin. "EEEEEEEEEE!"

"I can see you want to give Sly an unconventional learning experience, Edalyn, but Amity and I prefer the old-fashioned way." Lilith said before nodding to Amity. "Shall we?"

"Allow me, Miss Lilith." Amity smirked in reply before she launched the ball forward. As if on cue, Murray dived forward and grabbed the ball in his massive hands before charging towards the opposing team's goal with the intensity of a football player and slamming the ball into the ground.

"TOUCHDOWN!" Murray roared in triumph as he began doing a victory dance. "See guys, this ain't so hard! You just gotta treat it like any sport back home, but with magic!"

"Well, if you say so, Murray, then let's play ball!" Dimitri exclaimed as Amity took the ball and ran towards Sly's team's goal, but Sly thought quickly on his feet and slammed an ice glyph on the ground, forming a wall to block Amity's path. However, Amity responded in kind by using fire magic to melt the wall away, only for Dimitri to snatch the ball right under her nose.

"Oh no, you don't!" Lilith exclaimed before she threw a light glyph in Dimitri's face, blinding him like he got hit by a flashbang as he stumbled around trying to regain his sight.

"Don't think I'll go easy on ya because you're so beautiful, Lulu!" Dimitri yelled at Carmelita's face while pointing to her sitting in the stands.

"Um, I'm not Lilith." Carmelita replied curtly.

"Are you sure? I can barely see anything with this bright light!" Dimitri said before he face-planted on the ground while Lilith passed the ball to Eda, only to accidentally trip on the lizard's body.

"Hey, thanks, Dimitri!" Sly exclaimed as Eda scored a point for her team before Sly snatched the ball from the Owl Lady. "Don't think you've won just yet, I came prepared!" He then pulled out his cane, which he had decorated with glyph sheets, and used it to launch himself like a rocket towards the opposing team's goal. Suddenly, however, Amity had also launched herself with a massive pillar of vines and stole the ball from Sly's hands to score another point as Sly crashed onto the ground. "Not bad, kid."

"And Team Amity scores a point!" Bentley exclaimed. "Just to be clear, there's no keeping score here since we're only practicing, but hopefully this shall prepare you for the real challenge ahead."

"Whatever Boscha has in store for us, bring it on." Sly declared.

The Owl House, 5:30pm

Soon, Boscha and the Banshees had finally arrived to challenge Sly and the gang, but the Cooper Coven was more than ready to step up to the plate after all the time they spent training. On one side of the field were Sly, Amity, and Murray, while on the other side was Boscha, along with two of her cohorts, Kat and Amelia. Everyone else watched in eager anticipation as Bentley wheeled himself to the center of the field between Sly and Boscha. "Okay, I want a good, clean match. This is all in good fun, so there should in no way contain images of potentially harmful, hurtful, or psychologically disturbing physical acts that could be imitable by an impressionable child viewer. Capische?"

"Aw man!" Boscha moaned in dismay as Bentley pulled out a snail to flip.

"Now then, let's flip a snail to see who goes first. Team Boscha is heads, Team Sly is tails." Bentley stated as he flipped the coin into the air.

"HEADS!" Boscha cried.

"SONIC, I MEAN TAILS!" Murray yelled as the coin landed on tails, confirming that Sly's team would make the first shot. "Woohoo!"

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen and other genders, let's play ball!" Bentley yelled out while Gus conjured up a stadium's worth of cheering fans with his illusion magic, and King & Dimitri stood on the sideline as cheerleaders.

"Yeah, go, Sly!" King cheered while shaking some pom-poms in his paws.

"Uh, is no one going to tell King about his choice of outfit?" Dimitri whispered to Eda.

"Naw, it's just funnier." Eda giggled mischievously.

As the game began, Sly made the first move as he charged through the field with the ball tucked under his arm, combining his natural thief skills with his budding magic knowledge to score a few points against Boscha's team. "Murray, catch!" Sly yelled as he passed the ball to Murray, who eagerly stuck up his hands to receive it, only for Kat to shove the hippo out of the way to catch it instead.

"Uh, sorry!" Kat nervously apologized to Murray as he got up and noticed something glimmering out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, what's that?" Murray muttered as he wandered off, much to Sly and Amity's annoyance.

"Well, we just officially lost Murray." Amity muttered in disappointment. "Don't worry, though, we still have a few more points than Boscha."

"Yeah, about that." Sly added as he looked to Boscha, who scored another point and did a victory dance, looking like a very sore winner in the process. "One second, I know how to get her goat."

"How so?" Amity asked. "And what do goats have to do with this?"

"Hey Boscha, your mother was a broken-down tub of junk with more gentleman callers than the operator!" Sly taunted, making everyone gasp in shock at such a one-liner, while Bentley got a sense of déjà vu.

"Huh, that certainly takes me back." Bentley muttered.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY ABOUT MY MOM, YOU FURRY FREAK?!" Boscha screamed furiously as she charged at Sly, ready to use her Palisman Maya to attack him before Amity came to the raccoon's defense with Ghost. "NOBODY TALKS THAT WAY ABOUT MY MOM, NOBODY!"

"Go, Sly, grab the ball, I'll take care of Boscha!" Amity said to Sly as she fought against her former friend while the Cooper dove for the Grudgby ball held by Kat. "So, guess you've been wanting to do this for a while, huh, Boscha?"

"Oh, you bet I have!" Boscha replied. "Ditching me for the human and her friends is one thing, but running with that raccoon man?! Whatever happened to the Amity I grew up being friends with?! Why are you leaving me out of practically everything?!"

"She grew up, and you should too." Amity coldly responded, stunning Boscha into silence long enough for Sly to score another goal.

"Good work, kiddo!" Sly congratulated Amity for buying him time just as Murray wandered towards the two with something in his hands. "Murray, there you are! Thought you ditched the game for a second."

"Hey, Sly, check out this cool bug I found!" Murray said as he presented Sly and Amity with a golden glowing stag beetle that had a strange green gem held in its pincers. "Never seen one so shiny before."

"That's not just any bug, that's the Rusty Smidge!" Amity exclaimed upon recognizing the bug. "Do you know what that means?!"

"Indeed, Miss Blight." Bentley said as he pulled out the rules. "If one were to catch the Rusty Smidge, then their team automatically wins the game."

"Wait, that's it?" Sly began complaining. "So all the training we did was just for nothing? All we had to do was catch some bug to automatically win?! What kind of dumb rule is that?!"

"I know, right?!" Luz agreed.

"You think that was bad?" Eda commented. "You should've seen what the Smidge replaced, the Deus Ex Machina."

"Regardless, though, Team Sly wins! Three cheers for Murray!" Bentley exclaimed as everyone, even Boscha's own teammates, began celebrating Murray's accidental victory and prepared to lift him in triumph. "Hip hip!"

"Hgggggh!" The Cooper Coven groaned as they struggled to lift Murray's girth off the ground.

"Hip hip!" Bentley continued.

"Hgggggh!" The gang's struggle continued.

"I know hippos are normally very heavy, but I don't want to know how heavy they are when they can talk and stand on two feet!" Luz commented before she collapsed from pressure.

"AGH, MY SPINE!" Dimitri wailed in pain.

"Oh no, Dimitri!" Lilith cried out.

"Good grief, think I pull something!" Dimitri gasped in pain. "I pull everything!"

As Sly watched his gang lick their wounds from trying to lift Murray, he then glanced over at Boscha, who was trying to sneak away from the field to escape the deal she had made. "Not so fast, Three Eyes." Sly confidently declared while blocking her path. "You remember our deal, right? We win this game, and you have to join us."

"You guys only won because the big pink guy snatched the Rusty Smidge!" Boscha cried, pointing at Sly, only for the raccoon to grab her hand and start shaking it.

"Up and down, there we go." Sly declared as Boscha reluctantly returned the handshake.

"Okay, fine, I'll join your dumb little crew. But in return, I demand a rematch, just you and me, one on one." Boscha suggested.

"I'll take that bet." Sly agreed as Boscha was officially sworn into the Cooper Coven, whether she liked it or not.

BOSCHA, THE BULLY.

JOB COMPLETE

"And so, we added another member to our crew." Sly narrated as Boscha let herself into the Owl House and made herself at home. And by making herself at home, she sat herself down in Bentley's wheelchair and demanded that someone run her a footbath and do her nails, which Dimitri reluctantly complied with. "I'll have to take Murray's word on Boscha having some kind of need for validation, because she is not good at demonstrating that."

"I can't believe that she was your friend once," Lilith muttered to Amity under her breath.

"I was in a very different place back then," Amity said as she stood up and marched over to Boscha. "Okay, Boscha, if you want to stay on this gang, I request that you act like a team player at least once in a while. So that means leaving my friends alone until we stop the Wild Witch Syndicate, and especially Sly and his group. Are we clear?"

"Me, a team player? First of all, you of all people should know that I prefer being a leader, not a follower." Boscha said tauntingly as she stood up from Bentley's chair and marched over to stand face-to-face with Amity. "Second, if you expect me to take orders from you, the human, that raccoon man, or especially that dumb hippo, you've got another thing coming! And third-"Before Boscha could finish speaking, Amity punched her square in the face and knocked her out cold.

"Oops, my hand slipped." Amity taunted her old partner right back while everyone watched in awe of how quickly Boscha went down.

"One punch! One punch!" Dimitri cackled as Boscha lay knocked out on the floor.

"I'll give Amity this, she's very efficient." Lilith pondered what they had just watched as Murray and Willow entered the room.

"Hey guys, what's all the ruckus about?" Murray said as he tossed aside his Grudgeby uniform before looking down at Boscha lying on the floor. "Is that Boscha on the floor?"

"What happened to her? Is she dead?" Willow asked before adding under her breath, "No, we couldn't be that lucky."

"It's going to take a while to get used to having her around more often." Luz shook her head before turning to Sly.

"You said it." Sly nodded in agreement. "And I thought Carmelita had issues." He monologued to himself.

The Owl House, 3:00pm

The next day after school, Luz and company flew to the Owl House with a reluctant Boscha in tow, ready to swear her into the Cooper Coven and have her embark on her first mission.

"Sly, Eda, we're home!" Luz called out as the kids entered the Owl House, only to find Sly searching high and low around the house for something. "Is something wrong, Sly?"

"Yeah, we're looking for Murray." Sly answered. "Dude got his hands on some weird ice cream while you guys were at school, and suffice to say, curiosity killed the cat."

"I AM THE TIME LORD NOW, I CAN TASTE TIME!" Murray roared as he charged into the living room with a crazed look in his eyes, which were now colored in varying shades of pink, yellow, and blue. "THE LAWS OF TIME ARE MINE, AND THEY WILL OBEY ME!" He then jumped up and clung to the ceiling, starting to crawl around like a spider, while Eda, Lilith, Bentley, Carmelita, Dimitri, King, and Hooty could do nothing but watch.

"I got that ice cream from the Night Market, just FYI." Eda explained as she jabbed at the ceiling with a broom handle, causing Murray to fall to the ground flat on his face with both arms and one leg twisted behind his back.

"Murray, are you okay there, big guy?" Gus nervously asked as he poked the hippo's body with the bottom end of his Palisman.

"I call dibs on his stuff!" Hooty exclaimed.

"Hopefully, he's well enough for him and Boscha to stake out Mixzela together." Bentley muttered.

"I'M DEAD, I THINK I'M DEAD!" Murray shrieked as he bolted upright and felt himself getting high from the amount of Night Market ice cream he ate. "OOOOHHHH, TIME'S GOING BY REALLY, REALLY, REALLY SLOW AND MY HEART'S BEATING BACKWARDS!"

"Wait, your heart is beating backwards?" Lilith asked. "How do you know?"

"Well, normally, it goes goop boop, and now it's going boop goop!" Murray yelled before dropping on the floor and spinning around while going "WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!"

"Just calm down, bro, calm down!" Dimitri tried to advise. "You feeling anything else?"

"I can see sound, I can hear colors!" Murray continued screaming. "I FORGET HOW TO POOP!"

"What illegal substances are even in this ice cream?" Carmelita muttered as she examined the ice cream container. "The ANSES would have a field day with this."

"Well, looks like Murray has crashed out." Bentley sighed in dismay before turning to Sly. "Sly, you'll be going with Boscha for this stakeout. You two better not get into any arguments!"

"Not like we have a choice." Sly and Boscha muttered while glaring at each other before they set off.

"In addition, I need you two to go pick up some elixirs from Morton." Bentley added as he handed a new binocucom to Boscha, modified so she'd be able to see through it with all three eyes. "I placed an order for some that I hope we can use in our big mission. And maybe save Murray from whatever he's come down with."

Job: Brewery Beat

Bonesborough, 3:25pm

Riding on Maya, Sly and Boscha made their way back to Bonesborough for their next job as Boscha gazed through her binocucom to receive their orders.

"Come in, Boscha, can you read me? Is your binocucom working?" Amity asked on the other end.

"Oh, great, now I have to take orders from you again?" Boscha growled in dismay.

"Hey, focus here!" Amity exclaimed. "Anyways, for this mission, you and Sly are tasked with following Mixzela as she makes some purchases at Morton's stand before she makes her way back to her brewery. Rumor has it that she's been buying a lot of potions in bulk for some secret project she's been working on."

"Whatever that project is, it can't mean anything good." Sly assumed. "But in the meantime, hide!" Using the invisibility glyph, Sly took a deep breath and turned himself and Boscha invisible as Mixzela flew over them on her Palisman to visit Morton.

"Stand and deliver, Morton!" Mixzela greeted Morton like she was a highwayman about to make a robbery. "It certainly has been a while, hasn't it, young man? Now then, you got my stuff?"

"Oh yes, I have plenty of them right here, just like you wanted." Morton nervously complied as he dropped a large sack of elixirs on the counter for Mixzela to take. "I was actually saving some of these for Eda, but ever since she made peace with her curse, she doesn't really need to go out as much anymore."

"Splendid." Mixzela smiled as she took the sack and slung it over her shoulder. "I'll be on my way! But don't worry, I could be back for more elixirs soon."

"Uh, thanks for stopping by!" Morton waved farewell before he realized something. "Hey, you didn't pay me first!" Mixzela responded by throwing a snail into Morton's hand. "Good enough, I guess."

As soon as Mixzela got far enough away, Sly and Boscha revealed themselves as they touched down in front of Morton. "Oh, hey, Sly, was it?" Morton greeted the raccoon. "Nice to see you again."

"Hey, nice to see you too, pal." Sly greeted. "Listen, I'd like to ask a question or two. What does Mixzela want with all those elixirs you gave her?"

"Fess up, nerd, time is money!" Boscha added harshly.

"Uh, if you must ask, Mixzela has been buying a lot of elixirs for some kind of project she's been working on for the emperor." Morton explained. "I don't know what she's planning, though, since she's been pretty hush-hush about it, but I got a feeling it might be something bad, given her history."

"Not surprising there." Sly shook his head. "By the way, Bentley said he placed an order for some elixirs for us to use. Can we have some?"

"I'm glad you asked!" Morton said happily as he presented the elixirs to the duo. "These are some very special potions I have cooked up. Some can restore your health, others can increase your strength, speed, and stamina!"

"Great, how much?" Sly asked as he pulled out a coin purse of snails.

"About 100 snails, minus tax." Morton added as Sly looked over at Boscha.

"Okay, fine, I'll lend some money too." Boscha sighed while pulling out some snails of her own to buy the elixirs.

"Thanks, Morton, we'll be sure to come to you if we need any more." Sly thanked the apothecarist before he and Boscha began following Mixzela out of Bonesborough.

"Nyehehe, once I have all the ingredients I need, my master plan will be one step closer to completion." Mixzela cackled to herself while nursing one of her elixirs in her gloved hand. "Eda didn't know what she was thinking when she told me that I was crazy for trying to kill Miss Jenkinmeyer! Well, we'll see who the crazy one will be when I poison the water! AHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Poisoning the water?" Sly muttered in shock before tapping on his earpiece. "Bentley, are you and everyone else hearing this?"

"That does sound pretty serious, Sly." Bentley replied. "If we don't stop Mixzela soon, hundreds will likely be in critical condition or worse!"

"Shame Mixie had to turn out like this." Eda sighed in dismay. "She and I could've been a real team if she didn't become a super-criminal."

"Hey, who goes there?" Mixie shouted, having overheard Sly's conversation.

"Could you have talked any louder?" Boscha snarked before Sly grabbed Boscha by the arm and made themselves scarce.

"It feels like somebody…" Mixzela muttered to herself as Sly hid himself and Boscha away from her line of sight before the potion-maker turned around. "WANTS TO SELL ME SOMETHING!" Unfortunately, Mixzela found herself pointing at nothing. "Oh, never mind."

"Phew, almost had us there." Sly sighed in relief while he and Boscha hid behind a tree, only to discover a pair of salesmen with briefcases standing nearby.

"I told you she was onto us!" one of the salesmen said to the other before noticing Sly and Boscha standing next to them.

"Uh, do you two mind?" Boscha deadpanned to the salesmen. "We're kind of in the middle of something here."

"My bad, we'll be off." The second salesman apologized as the duo left.

"Okay, hopefully she'll be too busy laughing maniacally to keep trying to find us." Sly muttered. "Let's keep following her to the brewery, and then we'll see what we can do next."

"Yeah, the sooner we can bust this creep, the sooner I can leave you all to fend for yourselves." Boscha rolled her eyes. "I have much better things to do than cavort around with a bunch of flea-bitten thugs from another world."

"Okay, I've had just about enough of your attitude!" Sly snapped at Boscha. "What makes you think you have the right to treat my friends like this, even after we tried to see that there was still a bit of niceness in you?! I mean, for crying out loud, Murray was the first to try and reach out to you!"

"Oh, Sly, you still don't get it, do you?" Boscha shook her head with a cruel smirk as she side-eyed Sly with her back to the raccoon. "When you're growing up in a place like the Boiling Isles, where practically everything is trying to kill you, it's every witch for themselves, and I'm the kind of witch who will do anything to reach the top. I may be hated, so long as I am feared. And above all else, I am a winner."

"Classic social Darwinist, I see." Sly commented while folding his arms behind his head. "Well, whether you like it or not, we're all in this together, so no need to start fighting for the top now." Just then, he turned to notice Mixzela getting farther away from them as what he assumed to be her brewery loomed in the distance. "Come on, we're getting warmer."

"Fine, just hop on my Palisman." Boscha said as she prepared to fly on Maya as Sly took a seat behind her. As the two took off, Mixzela finally reached her brewery, which looked more like an old-fashioned power plant themed around her love of potion-making, and it was crawling with Coven Scouts and other criminal potioners serving as guards. As Mixzela entered the brewery and opened the door to her office, someone was already waiting for her.

"Ah, Mixie, so glad you could come." Vitimir said with a sinister smile forming beneath his scarf as Sly and Boscha observed the conversation from Mixzela's office window, with every word he spoke emitting some strange, noxious gas. "Did you bring the loot?"

"Yes indeed, Vitimir, all the elixirs we could need." Mixzela said as she presented her sack of elixirs. "Now all that's left are the final ingredients we need for my poison, and I can taint the water supply to find any remaining wild witches! BAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"And they said I was a little crazy." Vitimir replied. "Oh, please, I am indeed a little crazy, but I am only crazy for SCIENCE!"

"Who's the mosquito man?" Sly asked about Vitimir as he continued chatting with Mixzela.

"That's Vitimir, head witch of the Potion coven." Boscha explained. "Dude has a few screws loose, to put it lightly. I'm not even sure if he really cares about his duties serving Belos; he just wants to do science at the end of the day."

"And besides, if all else fails, I always have my secret weapon." Mixzela declared as she presented a small vial of a strange red elixir. "I call it the Jekyde Formula. One sip of this, and I will be unstoppable."

"Regardless, we need to head back to base and warn everybody." Sly declared. "I'm not letting anybody die here, or my name isn't Sly Jojo Cooper!"

"I'm sorry, your middle name is Jojo?" Boscha tried not to laugh and accidentally give away their location.

"Hey, it was my grandpa's name!" Sly retorted as he and Boscha prepared to leave. "I should let you read from the Thievius Raccoonus sometime. He wrote a lot about this little robot he butted heads with named Rocket."

JOB COMPLETE

The Owl House, 3:45pm

"Hey guys, we're back!" Sly exclaimed as he and Boscha returned to the Owl House with the potions they bought from Morton in hand, as he smelled something amiss as the gang was gathered in the kitchen. "Hey, what's cooking?"

"Oh, Sly, glad you and Boscha came back in one piece." Bentley said as he rolled up to collect the potions while holding a deep-fried banana. "While you were gone, Murray, in his weird ice cream drug high, began teaching us how to deep fry all kinds of food." He then offered the banana to Sly. "Want one?"

"Sure, I'm starving!" Sly exclaimed as he gladly took the banana and took a bite. "Hey, this ain't half bad." Midway through eating the deep-fried banana, Sly began to realize something. "The monkeys must never find out."

"So, how did the stakeout go, you guys?" Luz asked as she and Murray stepped into the room with plates of more deep-fried foods to share.

"So it turns out that crazy Mixie lady is planning on creating some kind of poison that will expose any wild witches who drink the water she taints it with, or whatever." Boscha explained. "I'm not too worried, though."

"Poison?! Aw geez, we gotta act fast!" Murray exclaimed. "Quick, someone make a good antidote!" Without thinking, Murray snatched a sandwich out of Dimitri's hands and dumped it into the deep-fryer.

"My Manwich!" Dimitri yelled as his food was transformed into a deep-fried confection, only to discover that it tasted even better than it already did once he reached in to grab it. "Hey, this is pretty good!"

"Creating an elixir to poison the water and root out any wild witches sounds very serious, and if we don't make an antidote quickly, the consequences could be fatal." Lilith concluded. "We need to find any ingredients that could be useful in stopping her."

"Good, because that's what the subject of our next job will be." Bentley declared. "Luz, I need you, Eda, and Lilith to go out and search for the following ingredients I've written down here. I think you might be familiar with some of these."

"Got it, Bentley." Luz nodded eagerly.

Job: Ingredient Hunt

Boiling Isles Forest, 4:00pm

"Okay, let's run that list by again." Lilith said as she looked over Bentley's list while she journeyed with Eda and Luz through the forest. "He says we need some golden selkigris, one quart each of fairy spit and tears, some sleeping nettles, a few Sundrop Flower petals, five stinkshrooms, two wumpa fruits, a cup of light eco, a bunch of zurpstones, and one more thing." When Lilith got down to the bottom of the list, she cringed in disgust. "Ugh, fire bee honey."

"Oh, that was what you got for the scrying potion, right?" Luz wondered. "Hopefully, it will be less trouble to get our hands on that. Now follow me!" Just then, Luz began climbing up a nearby tree and perched on one of its branches like a ninja so she could get a better look at the surrounding area.

"Hey, Luz, where'd you get those moves?!" Eda hollered from below.

"Picked up a few tricks from the Thievius Raccoonus!" Luz called back. "You should read a few pages sometime; you might learn some cool moves!" She then followed up by launching herself to the nearest tree branch in a flash of blue light before repeating the process for the next few branches.

"I think Sly's starting to rub off on her." Lilith commented as the Clawthorne sisters followed Luz around the forest in search of their ingredients. Throughout the journey, some were far easier to collect than others due to their shared experience, such as the selkigris, the sleeping nettles, and the fairy spit and tears. Others, however, proved to be a bit more challenging.

"Ugh, these fire bees are just as unhinged as last time!" Lilith grunted as she ran to dodge the swarm of bees while Luz and Eda tried their best to fight them off.

"Don't worry, Lily, this will be a cinch!" Luz confidently declared as she threw an ice glyph at the fire bees, hoping to freeze them in place. While the trick was successful, and the trio was able to collect the honey without much trouble, the ice melted quickly as soon as they felt they had enough.

"Run?" Eda asked.

"RUN!" Lilith screamed as the three escaped with the honey in hand.

Thankfully, Luz, Eda, and Lilith were able to make it out with only a few painful stings. After retrieving the Sundrop petals, the eco, the stinkshrooms, and the Wumpa fruits, all that was left were the Zurpstones, which were large, purple fruits growing out of the ground in the middle of the forest.

"Okay, gang, one last ingredient and we should be home free!" Eda declared as she rubbed her hands together and prepared to grab the zurpstone, only for someone else to grab it at the exact same time as she did. And it just so happened to be a familiar face.

"Mixie!" Eda exclaimed as she saw both her and Mixzela grab onto the same Zurpstone plant.

"Edalyn!" Mixzela yelled at her old friend.

"Mixzela." Lilith glowered at the mad scientist.

"Lilith!" Mixzela shouted as the former head of the Emperor's Coven.

"Uh, Luz!" Luz awkwardly interjected. "So, you must be Mixzela, huh? Whatever you want to do with these plants, it won't work because we found them first!"

"What kind of logic is that? I was searching for them before you did!" Mixzela exclaimed before coughing into her hand and rubbing it against her lab coat. "Anyways, I assume you must be Eda's little human sidekick who's also been running with the raccoon."

"What, were you expecting someone taller?" Luz tried to make a joke, but it didn't have an effect on Mixzela.

"I didn't have any expectations at all, so consider them met." Mixzela declared. "Now then, since we just so happened to be looking for the same thing, let's make a compromise, Owl Lady. I shall let you, your sister, and the human live if you let me take these Zurpstones."

"Naw, that doesn't sound fair enough," Eda stated. "How about we take all these Zurpstones and you only get one?"

"That's even less fair!" Mixie yelled. "You take one, I take them all!"

"No, you take one!" Eda argued.

"I take them all!" Mixzela continued bickering with her former classmate.

"You take one!" Eda said with an eyebrow quirked in Luz and Lilith's direction as if cluing them in on what she was going to do next.

"I take them all!" Mixzela yelled back.

"I take them all!" Eda retorted, throwing Mixzela for a loop.

"You take them all, and I only get one! Agreed?!" Mixzela declared, ready to shake hands, not realizing she'd been had.

"Good to see you're still so agreeable." Eda smiled as she and Mixie shook hands before taking the zurpstones and leaving Mixie with only one before the trio made their leave.

"Ah, just like old times." Mixzela smiled nostalgically before she made a shocking realization. "Wait a second, DAMN YOU EDALYN, YOU TRICKED ME!" Reaching into her lab coat, Mixzela grabbed a small red vial that she held in her hands for a moment, contemplating whether she should use it now or later. "Aw, screw it, can't let a good formula go to waste." She muttered as she put the vial away and pulled out her octopus Palisman. "Jekyll, yip yip!"

"Wow, Eda, where did you get that?" Luz commented on Eda's earlier act of misdirection.

"Something from my Hexside days." Eda answered before she began laughing. "Whenever Mixie and I disagreed on something and the argument looked like it was gonna last a while, I made her end up switching sides and look like a huge sucker in the process. It cracks me up every time!"

As Eda was fondly reminiscing on the past, however, Lilith looked up to see Mixzela flying towards them on her Palisman as she nervously poked Eda's shoulder. "Uh, Edalyn!"

"What is it now, Lily?" Eda asked as she turned around to discover what Lilith wanted to show her. "LADYSMITH BLACK MAMBAZO, RUN!"

"YOU CONNED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, EDA!" Mixzela yelled with a deranged laugh as she charged straight towards Eda at full speed, fully intending on ramming into her at full force. But the Owl Lady was undeterred as she assumed her harpy form and passed Owlbert to Luz.

"Kid, you and Lilith get outta here with the ingredients, I'll buy you guys some time." Eda declared. "Tell Sly and the others I'll be back soon. If I don't make it back, well, then let's make it a rescue mission."

"Okay, Eda." Luz said warily as she got onboard Owlbert, and she and Lilith sped off on their Palismen, leaving Eda to face off against her former friend.

"SAY YOUR PRAYERS, CLAWTHORNE!" Mixzela screamed with a sadistic grin as she prepared to smash straight into Eda, only for the Owl Lady to grab the scientist by the neck and smash her face into the ground as her Palisman landed into a nearby tree like a dart.

"Why are you doing this, Eda? You're as much of a criminal as I am!" Mixie declared as she escaped from the Owl Lady's clutches and summoned Jekyll back to her aid.

"Yes, but I never actually killed people, nor did I ever plan on poisoning anybody!" Eda replied while hovering in the air. "Okay, I did plan on poisoning this playboy merchant I went on a date with once if I didn't get a good deal on crow heads, but that's beside the point."

"Face it, Eda, you've gone soft!" Mixzela declared as she pulled out a newspaper headline documenting the Cooper Coven's defeat of Oozan. "Taking the human and that annoying demon thing under your wing, metaphorically speaking, of course, letting her go to magic school, sharing your curse with your sister even when she used it to ruin your life, and now you're fighting against your fellow misfits?! If I didn't know any better, I'd say you're just as bad as Belos!"

"Whoa now, Mixie, let's not get crazy!" Eda exclaimed in protest. "You're the one who decided to throw her lot in with Belos, along with her buddies! And for what, the freedom to do whatever you want without getting forced into a coven or taking part in the Day of Unity?! You guys are a disgrace to all of us wild witches!"

"If that's the way you want, Eda, then so be it." Mixzela declared as she pulled the vial out of her lab coat. "Just one drop, nothing else." She said to herself as she took out a dropper to suck some of the elixir in and drop it on her tongue.

"What are you doing?" Eda asked as Mixzela felt that something had changed within her.

"Oh, not much," Mixzela smirked as she felt a wave of exhilaration wash over her as she began transforming. "It's just that you won't like me when I'm angry!" Eda could only watch as Mixzela underwent a transformation of her own. Only, instead of transforming into a powerful monster form, Mixzela grew into a much taller, more muscular, and more attractive form, her skin and hair turning a brilliant emerald green as she began to tower over the Owl Lady, looming over her opponent with a feral roar.

"So, to get more power, you just decided to change your skin again?" Eda quipped as she prepared for a fight. "Not gonna lie, I preferred you looking orange; that shade was a nice color on you."

"Don't judge me by how the Jekyde Formula has changed my form, Edalyn! With this potion, I am now far stronger than ever!" Mixzela bragged. "Now I shall take revenge on everyone who has underestimated me for being a troublemaking nuisance, and that now includes you!"

"Well, you may be stronger, but you still forgot one thing." Eda smirked as she took off into the air. "I CAN FLY!"

"Oh, right, thought those wings were for show." Mixzela muttered to herself before she grabbed onto one of Eda's wings to try pulling Eda out of the air, but she failed each time as Eda continued assaulting her with elbow drops, headbutts, divebombs, and butt bashes from above. "Hold still!"

"That form of yours is gonna wear out eventually!" Eda taunted. "I'm just wasting time till you get tired and give up!"

"I shall never give up, not as long as either of us still draws a breath!" Mixzela roared before she accidentally tripped over a tree branch and face-planted on the ground. "That was just a misstep! Now then, prepare yourself!" Mixie then grabbed the tree and ripped it up from the ground with her bare hands before tossing it straight at Eda, knocking the harpy out of her flight and sending her crashing to the ground as she returned to her normal form.

"Okay, you beat me this time. I don't think I saw that coming." Eda said as she struggled to get back up and looked her former friend dead in the eye with a weary look on her face. "Listen, you don't have to do this."

"You didn't have to do this either, but look where that got us." Mixie retorted as she slowly began returning to her normal state. "But since I'm such a fair player, I shall let you live and return to your little gang. I prefer to save my energy for when we face each other again."

"Fine, I'll be back for you later." Eda said as she prepared to leave, but not before she shot one last nasty look at Mixzela. "But mark my words, if you ever hurt Luz, King, Sly, or any of my gang, there will be hell to pay."

"Way to give away my plans, spoilsport." Mixzela smirked back before turning away from the Owl Lady and returning to her brewery.

JOB COMPLETE

The Owl House, 4:30pm

Meanwhile, Luz and Lilith had just returned to the Owl House with their potion ingredients, much to the relief of the rest of the Cooper Coven as the two entered the house.

"Luz, Lilith, so glad you could make it!" Sly exclaimed in relief before he realized something was missing. "Wait, where's Eda?"

"We ran into Mixzela while we were collecting zurpstones, and she and Eda got into a fight while Eda told us to go on ahead." Luz answered nervously. "I just hope she's alright." Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Who could that be?"

"Everybody stand clear, there's no telling who could be at the door!" Bentley said as the Cooper Coven got ready to attack whoever was about to step through, only for Hooty to slither in and interrupt everything.

"Dudes, it's just Eda, no need to get all up in arms, especially when I can see everything around the house." Hooty said as he opened the front door to reveal the Owl Lady on the other side, tired and beaten from her earlier fight with Mixzela.

"Eda!" Luz, Lilith, and King cried as they raced to hug Eda tightly, relieved that she was okay.

"Glad to see all y'all too, now can you please give me some space? I'm in a lot of pain right now." Eda replied as she was let go from the hug and slumped on the couch.

"What happened back there?" Carmelita asked. "Do you need any assistance?"

"Relax, I'm mostly fine." Eda chuckled while stretching out some muscles she nearly pulled from the fight. "Though Mixzela may be far stronger than we think. She got this weird kind of elixir that she used to turn into a big, green Amazon muscle mommy to keep up with my harpy form. We're gonna have to watch our toes if we're gonna bring her down."

"Which is why we thankfully got the potion ingredients we needed." Bentley declared. "Making the potion itself may take a while, but once we're finished and can use it in our heist, it'll all be worth it." He then turned to Boscha. "Boscha, this is the reason why we wanted to recruit you onto the team. Your expertise in potion-making should be exactly what we need to make this antidote." He said as he handed the list to Boscha. "Do you have what it takes to assist us in this endeavor?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Boscha answered sarcastically.

"Okay, gang, we're now closer than ever to bringing Mixzela's whole operation down!" Bentley declared as he mapped out plans for the next big heist with the scrying potion. "With help from Boscha, we can now create potions strong enough to counter Mixzela's poison before she can use it to harm the innocent!" He then conjured up an image of Mixzela manufacturing her poison as she laughed like a mad scientist. "But this will not be as easy as making a potion, y'know. The girl is a total loose cannon, and if one of us slips up, she'll more than likely go crazy and use that formula Eda talked about, so we have to be careful."

"Just tell me what I have to do, nerd, so that I can get out of here faster." Boscha snarked.

"Okay, bossy boots." Bentley grumbled back. "Speaking of which, Boscha, you, Sly, Murray, and Luz will break into Mixzela's brewery and use the counter-potion to tamper with her poison supply, rendering its effects completely useless." With a stir of the pot, Bentley created an image of the four breaking into the brewery. "But this will require some expert-level infiltration and hacking, which is where I come in. With help from King, Lilith, Hooty, and Carmelita, I shall break into Mixzela's advanced security systems, and Dimitri, Gus, Eda, Willow, and Amity shall keep any unwanted guests at bay while I do my thing." With that, Bentley stirred an image of the core of Mixzela's security.

"How did she even get her hands on technology that advanced? Not even a scroll can be that powerful!" Luz commented.

"Who do you think, Luz?" Sly added.

"Right, that Penelope girl." Luz agreed as Bentley conjured up an image of Penelope shaking hands with Belos. "Why can't she see that Belos is clearly lying to her?!"

"We don't know for sure if Belos is lying to her, kiddo!" Eda replied. "Then again, this is Belos we're talking about, so I'd be surprised if she was the one lying to him."

"Can we save the Penelope talk for some other time?" Bentley interrupted the two, not wanting to be reminded of his ex-girlfriend at the moment. "If we waste more time here, Mixzela will surely already be poisoning witches as we speak, so we need to act fast! Time to enact Operation: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble!"

Job: Operation: Fire Burn and Cauldron Bubble

Mixzela's Brewery, 7:00pm

Hours later, once the counter-potion had finally been made, the Cooper Coven was ready to pull off their big heist. Outside of the brewery where Sly, Luz, Murray, and Boscha were stationed, the gates were shut tight with a sign hanging on them that read "DO NOT ENTER. TOP SECRET PROJECT IN PROCESS." However, the project in question wouldn't be very secret for long.

"Team One is at the front gates." Sly spoke into his earpiece. "Team Two, are you in position?"

"Team Two is ready when you are." Bentley replied. "Team Three, current status?"

"Showtime, baby!" Dimitri eagerly answered.

"Okay, I'll give the signal when I pick all the locks." Sly declared. "Eda, I'm gonna need you and Gus to provide cover for me while we break open the gate."

"Roger, Sly." Eda nodded in reply. "Gulp, you better be ready for this. Dimitri, if any guards come by, I'm counting on you to distract them."

"You got it, dude!" Dimitri replied just as he saw some Coven Scouts approaching Team Three. "Hey, stupids, over here!"

"Look, it's the lizard, get him!" one of the scouts exclaimed before they started chasing Dimitri, buying the rest of Team Three enough time to start picking one of the gate locks before them.

Meanwhile, Teams One and Two had already broken through the front gate and were now making their way into the brewery, where more guards were on high alert after Dimitri's earlier distraction. The room was also decorated with searchlights and laser grids. "This is going to be a bit of a problem, but we can still improvise." Bentley observed the number of guards present. "My team will go search for the security system and shut it down; the rest of you will go find Mixzela and drop our counter-potion into her poison."

"Roger that." Luz nodded before turning to Boscha, who was wearing a bandolier of potions. "Understand, Boscha?"

"Sure, I'll do whatever you say as long as I get out of here once we're done." Boscha sighed harshly. "I don't have time for your bizarro found family."

"By the way, Sly, you should know that Luz might've picked up a few tricks from you, if you catch my drift." Lilith commented as she, Hooty, Bentley, Carmelita, and King began searching for the security system. Meanwhile, Sly started to pull something out of his pocket that he hoped would distract the guards.

"Who's the little robot man?" Luz asked Sly while observing a gray-colored robot with a nuclear power symbol on its chest.

"I call him TOM; Bentley based him on this anime block we sometimes watch back home. He's like a little distraction we sometimes use." Sly explained and then tossed TOM into the sight of some Coven Scouts and potioners nearby. "Watch this."

"Hey, hey!" TOM began yelling to get the guards' attention. "PEANUTS!"

"Hey, what is that thing?" one of the potioners asked while nervously stepping towards the robot.

"Man, now I want peanuts." Another potioner stated. "Haven't had time to get a snack lately."

"The vending machine's right there, Chris, just put in a copper." The first potioner suggested before he realized that the vending machine was missing. "Hey, where'd it go? Chris, what did you do?!"

"I didn't do anything, Martin!" Chris objected in defense, unaware that the vending machine was now hovering right above the two's heads.

"Oh, that's what you always said, even as far back as our days at St. Epiderm!" Martin accused Chris before the vending machine crashed on top of the two, knocking them both out. To add insult to injury, TOM then self-destructed right then and there. While all the guards were distracted, Luz rolled past everyone using the Fast Raccoon Getaway Roll coined by Sally Cooper, impressing Sly with how quickly she was learning from his family line.

"Nice work with the vending machine, Murray." Sly complimented Murray's creative thinking as soon as the four got far enough away from the guards.

"Shame we had to sacrifice the snacks to take out the guards, though." Murray replied while hiding a few snacks from the vending machine behind his back.

"So we got the guards all knocked out or distracted. Now what do we do?" Boscha asked as she started fidgeting in place. "I need something to do already!"

"Don't worry, we'll keep looking for the poison and then wait for the others' signal." Sly assured Boscha. "Then, you can beat up as many people as you want."

"Well, ladies, here we are at the heart and soul of this operation!" Bentley declared as he, Lilith, Carmelita, and King made their way into the central security office. "Once I hack my way into the system, this whole facility shall be ours to control."

"I can't believe this." Lilith gasped in awe of the advanced technology surrounding them, with various high-definition screens monitoring every room via the cameras they were connected to. "The Blights have got nothing on machinery this advanced."

"Focus, everyone, we need to break into the security system so everybody else can get in unscathed." Carmelita stated as Bentley approached the main computer and cracked his knuckles.

"Leave that to me, Carmelita." Bentley declared as he pressed a button, causing a prompt to show up.

"To start, press any key." King read the prompt before looking down at the keyboard in confusion. "Where's the 'any' key? I see 'esc', 'ctrl', and 'pg up', but there doesn't seem to be any 'any' key!"

"I'm just as lost as you are, King," Lilith stated. "I hope the others are doing fine. Maybe I'll go out and check." Just then, Bentley pressed the 'tab' key.

"Weh, no time for that now, the computer-ma-jig is starting!" Hooty exclaimed, emerging from the Porta-Hooty on her back as Bentley logged on and began hacking.

"Okay, this shouldn't be any different from the other computers I've hacked, I hope." Bentley declared as his hacking took the form of a little green turtle-shaped tank shooting down enemies, no doubt representing enemies trying to stop the hack. Nevertheless, Bentley remained undeterred as he broke through all of Mixzela's computer systems and was just about ready to bring the whole thing down. However, someone seemed to have other plans.

"Bentley, watch out!" Lilith cried as Bentley's avatar found itself attacked by a pink avatar shaped like a small airplane, which made Bentley realize who he was up against.

"Surprise, scrub!" the airplane avatar said mockingly.

"Hello, Penelope." Bentley responded. "I should've known you'd be supplying the Syndicate with a security system like this."

"EB made the right choice recruiting a pro-gamer like me." Penelope's avatar boasted back. "Now get rekt, nerd!"

"We'll see who the scrub is when I'm done here!" Bentley challenged Penelope to a virtual shootout, while Lilith was left completely confused by the gamer lingo they exchanged.

"Pardon the interruption, but can anyone please define what they just said?" Lilith asked. "What does a scrub mean in this context?"

"I'm not that big of a gamer myself, but I think Penelope means she's going to wash Bentley, as in totally defeat him." Carmelita answered. "And I'm also going to assume EB has got to be Emperor Belos."

As the two women conversed about gamer lingo they struggled to understand, Bentley was laser-focused on his hacking, with King giving him tips while standing on the turtle's shoulder. "Quick, do a barrel roll! Use Harden! Use all your inventory items with all your inventory items!"

"I appreciate the help, King, but I got this covered!" Bentley assured the little demon before Penelope suddenly started interfering with the game to give herself an edge. "Seriously, hacking the game to win?! I thought you were better than that, you griefer!"

"Git gud!" Penelope mocked Bentley from afar.

"Stand back, King, I'm about to perform what many might consider to be a pro-gamer move." Bentley declared as he cracked his knuckles and began entering a certain code. "Up up, down down, left right, left right, B, A, enter!" Once the code was entered, Bentley's avatar became practically invincible, and he eliminated Penelope's avatar in only a few hits before successfully cracking the final firewall. "Boom goes the dynamite!"

"Yeah, get dunked on, boiiiii!" Hooty hollered triumphantly.

Meanwhile, in Penelope's quarters at Belos's castle, Penelope had just realized what Bentley had pulled off, and she was not happy. "Konami code, I should've known!" she ranted before angrily typing "WTF?! KYS!"

"You first." Bentley smugly replied before Penelope's connections to the brewery's security system were blocked, symbolized by a blue screen of death as she dropped her head on her desk in frustration.

"Well, back to work, I guess," Penelope grumbled as she exited her hacking program and opened up some files relating to the anatomy of witches while pulling out some ramen to eat. "Hm, I wonder what Clockwerk could do with magic?"

"Woohoo, we did it!" King cheered as Bentley now had complete control of the brewery's security, allowing him free rein to give his teammates the freedom to break in whenever they pleased.

"Nice work, Bentley, but I still have a few questions," Lilith said while squinting at Penelope's final message. "What do WTF and KYS mean?"

"I bet it means, 'Welcome to Fun, Keep Yourself Safe!" Hooty answered.

"Trust me, you guys are better off not knowing." Bentley answered before speaking into his binocucom. "Teams One and Three, this is Team Two. We cracked the security. You now have free rein to break in and access the main chemical plant."

Just then, there was a knock at the door, followed by a group of potioners bursting into the security room. "Freeze, criminals! Put your hands in the air!"

"Still will never get used to this." Carmelita snarled in dismay as she prepared her shock pistol.

"Might as well accept it for as long as you're here, Carm." Lilith said while taking up arms with her Palisman and a few glyphs as the four prepared for a fight.

"The Cooper Coven, here?!" Mixzela yelled at a few Coven Scouts while sitting in her office as she slammed her hands on her desk. "How did you fools not notice them?!"

"We're sorry, madame, we were too distracted by Chris and Martin being crushed by the vending machine!" one of the scouts apologized. "Plus, a few of the snacks were taken from the machine too, like that beetle jerky I really liked."

"You can worry about your snacks later, you two; the thieves cannot interfere with my plans!" Mixzela declared as she prepared to confront the crew herself. "If they try to stop my poisoning plan, they'll no doubt find out about my special poison for Belos!"

"Wait, poison for Belos?" the second scout asked nervously.

"You know, the poison. The poison for Belos, the poison chosen especially to kill Belos, Belos's poison." Mixzela face-palmed in disgust before turning to an unlucky test subject. "Sorry, Tiny Nose, I'm afraid you'll live another day. For now."

"Uh, can I stiww get paid for this?" Tiny Nose awkwardly asked while strapped to a dentist's chair as Mixzela stormed out of her office to confront the Cooper Coven. "Hewwo? Anybody?"

Suddenly, Eda burst through Mixzela's office window in her harpy form, shattering the glass in the process and spooking the guards before she grabbed onto their hoods. "Okay, you mooks, tell us where Mixie went!"

"Uh, we don't know where she went, but she totally isn't planning to find your friend so she can keep them from ruining her plans to poison Belos!" the first scout said. "Sorry, I just can't shut up when I'm scared."

"Wait, poison Belos?!" Eda gasped in shock. "How many of these guys want to betray and/or kill him?!"

"Not gonna lie, pretty much all of them, except for Tienhan as far as I know." The second scout muttered. "I can never read that guy."

"Come on, guys, Luz and the others are in trouble." Eda said as she turned to Amity, Dimitri, Willow, and Gus while they followed her through the window before turning back to the scouts. "That reminds me. What did you do with Lilith?"

"Nothing yet, she's just fighting her way through the potioners along with the fox lady, the turtle, and whatever your pet is." The first scout continued spilling everything Eda needed to know. "Seriously, I can't-"

"Shut up when you're scared, we know." Eda said as she dropped them to the ground and returned to her normal form. "Come on, kids, we haven't got a moment to lose."

Finally, Sly's team had made it to the main room of Mixzela's brewery, which was filled with chemical vats containing all the potions the mad scientist could ever want to use to commit crimes, and at the center was a particularly massive vat that no doubt held the poison. All that was left to do now was to drop the counter-potion into the huge vat and stop Mixzela's plot once and for all.

"Okay, guys, follow me!" Luz said as she jumped up onto a wire leading to the main vat and began tiptoeing on it with enough athletic skill to rival Tennessee "Kid" Cooper.

"Hey, is that the Rail Walk?" Sly commented as he followed Luz on the wire. "Lilith was right, you are learning from me."

"Thanks, Sly, and of course, you've been learning from me too," Luz said gratefully before turning to Murray and Boscha. "Hey, you two, try and keep up!"

"We're trying, not all of us are as nimble as you!" Murray hollered.

"And not all of us are fat enough to break a wire." Boscha muttered under her breath just as she and Murray realized that there was a heavily guarded door right in front of the central vat. "Oh come on!"

"Oh, goody, a locked door, whatever shall we do?" Luz snarked at the three-eyed witch's expense.

"Do not fret, my young friend." Murray declared. "A barrier may stand before us, but fear not! The Murray shall bend it like the truth!" Murray then ran all the way back to the entrance to the storage room, making the others believe he was going to ram straight into the door to break it open. However, that was only half true.

Instead, Murray encased himself in a mystical sphere as he curled himself up into a ball and dashed all the way across the bridge straight into the door, ramming into it with enough force to not just destroy the door, but cause some significant damage to the surrounding area in the process. However, Murray was going so fast that he almost didn't notice that he was about to accidentally fall into the potion vat before stopping himself in the nick of time.

"Whew, that was close!" Murray breathed a sigh of relief as he looked over the railing surrounding the potion. "Hey, what do you think would happen if I crashed into this vat? Would I come out looking like a clown who thinks filling parade balloons with gas, burning money, or mailing dead rats to people is funny?"

"If anything, you probably wouldn't change a bit." Boscha grumbled before Luz and Sly landed next to her.

"Okay, Boscha, it's all up to you now." Luz declared. "Dump that counter-potion in and we're home free!"

"Not so fast!" Mixzela declared as she pulled a switch that closed the lid on the central vat and began slow-clapping as she made her entrance. "Well, well, well, Sly Cooper. We meet at last. Gotta say, you're even more impressive in person than I thought. Sneaking your way into my brewery and taking out all my guards? Guess it's true what everyone said, you truly are a cunning, devious Thievius Raccoonus."

"Listen, Mixzela, you have no idea how many people you're going to kill with your poison!" Sly urged Mixzela.

"I know exactly how many people I'm going to kill, Cooper. I just choose not to care." Mixzela sneered before she looked down at Boscha, holding the counter-potion in her hand. "Oh, and I see you got a new member of your gang here. Potion track, go figure, just like Edalyn and I were back in the day. Well, before she ran out on me!" Mixzela then flipped the switch again and reopened the central vat. "Allow me to offer you a deal, young lady. Hand over that counter-potion to me, and I shall give you anything you could ever want."

"Oh no, do not do this!" Luz tried urging Boscha to make her decision. "If you listen to her, honestly, I wouldn't be super surprised. But please, you have to make the right choice! Can't believe I just said that."

"It's your call, young lady." Mixzela said as she created a walkway across the vat for the two potion makers to meet in the middle and stuck out her hand. "Take my hand. Come on, Three-Eyes. Won't you take a poor sinner's hand?"

"No, Boscha, don't do it!" Murray cried out, making the young witch cringe in disgust before turning back to Murray.

"What makes you think you can still tell me what to do?!" Boscha snapped at the hippo while turning to face him. "You think you're so cool and macho, but really, you're just a big pink goofball who likes nothing more than eating, punching, and being a burden to this stupid gang!"

Angered by Boscha's insult towards his brother figure, Sly prepared to attack Boscha where she stood, but Murray gently ordered him otherwise with a gesture of his massive hand.

"You wanna hurt me? Go right ahead if it makes you feel any better." Murray declared in an impassioned speech to the young witch. "I'm an easy target. Yeah, you're right. I'm a big meathead who likes eating and solving problems by punching things. I talk too much, but I also listen too much. I could be a cold-hearted cynical bully like you, but I don't like to hurt people's feelings! I prefer to hurt their bodies instead!"

Judging by Boscha's eyes widening at that statement, Murray's speech seems to have struck a chord in her as he continued. "You can think whatever you want about me, but I'm not changing! I like, I like me! Sly and Bentley like me! Luz and friends like me! Because I'm the real article! What you see is what you get!"

"Your speech about being true to yourself is adorable, but it will not save you here." Mixzela declared before she tried to grab the counter-potion from Boscha's hands. "Now I will not ask again! Give it to me!" Instead, however, Mixzela got a right hook to her face, breaking one of the lenses of her goggles. "Grrrrrrr!"

"Look, Mixzela, was it?" Boscha asked. "You may think I can easily take your side, but here's a little something about me. I may be a bully who could totally get away with murder if I so chose, but I will never be anywhere close to the genocidal psychopath you are! So yeah, whether any of us like it or not, I am a member of the Cooper Coven!" As Boscha made her bold statement, she uncorked the potion bottle and dumped all of the counter-potion into the vat, negating all the effects of Mixzela's poison and rendering it utterly useless in the process.

"NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO!" Mixzela screamed in horror and began pulling at her hair as all her hard work was rendered completely pointless by just one girl. "YOU DISGUSTING THREE-EYED LITTLE BRAT! I GAVE YOU FRIENDSHIP AND YOU SPAT IN MY FACE! AND IT'S ALL THANKS TO THAT PIECE OF SHIT HIPPO MAN!"

"That is where you're wrong about me, Mixzela!" Murray declared triumphantly. "I'm as human, or witch, or hippo, I guess, as anyone! I love; I get scared! I wake up every morning, and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and I try to make the best choice I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human! And that's The Murray's greatest strength! And some day I hope, for the sake of my friends and everyone in the Boiling Isles, that you realize it's yours too."

"And for the record, you are the exact kind of nerd I would've publicly humiliated at school anyway." Boscha added smugly, enraging Mixzela even further before she got a shock pistol blast to the other lens of her goggles.

"Freeze, Mixzela! Hands where I can see them!" Carmelita shouted as she, Bentley, Lilith, King, Amity, Willow, Gus, and Dimitri burst into the room to corner Mixzela. "We have you surrounded now, you mad genius."

"Yeah, we know you're trying to poison Belos!" Eda added before incredulously saying, "Seriously though, first Oozan and now you. How many freaking people in this Syndicate want to betray this guy?!"

"I'm afraid you're already too late, because SOMEBODY had the bright idea of dumping this counter-potion into my magnum opus!" Mixzela declared while lifting Boscha by the arm. "Besides, aren't you guys trying to kill Belos as well? We should be on the same side!"

"Yeah, but you're planning to kill tons of other people, too!" King exclaimed in response.

"SHUT YOUR FACE!" Mixzela yelled at King before taking off her gloves and reaching for the Jekyde Formula in her lab coat. "Just one drop, huh? Well, sorry, Past Mixzela, but I'm taking the whole bottle!"

"Isn't that what she used against you, Eda?" Luz asked her mentor as the full Cooper Coven, plus Boscha, assembled before Mixzela as she chugged the vial down.

"Yeah, one drop already made her pretty strong." Eda answered. "Imagine what drinking all of it can do."

"Oh, I don't think drinking so fast was such a good idea." Mixzela muttered as she felt herself getting hot under the collar, forcing her to ditch the lab coat to reveal a tank top underneath, take off her broken goggles, and undo her hair, revealing that she was surprisingly attractive. "Oh yeah, oh, I'm feeling good! Like somebody's lighting my fire!"

"Could anyone please tell me what is in that stuff?" Eda asked while trying to cover King's innocent eyes as the transformation began.

"Whatever it is, I don't want to know." Bentley replied as the Cooper Coven did nothing to stop Mixzela's transformation, since they were just too stunned to do anything but watch as she was clearly acting like she was doing something else, as evidenced by her sensual panting and moaning.

"Oh, oh Titan, yes!" Mixzela yelled as she slowly began to grow to a giant size. But unlike the green Amazon form she took in her fight with Eda, her skin was slowly turning grey instead. "Oh! Oh! Oh...oh, Titan. Ooh, oh Titan. Oh, Titan, right there! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES!" Mixzela began chanting in sheer exhilaration, her fist slowly growing as she smashed it into the ground. "YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! YES! OOOOHHHH! OH TITAN, YES! YES! YES! YES! YEEEEEESSSSSS!"

"Uh, I'll have what she's having." Eda snarked awkwardly as the Cooper Coven was now faced with Mixzela, now transformed from a normal-sized adult witch into a monstrous, grey-skinned, hulking brute.

"OH, SWEET MYSTERY OF LIFE, AT LAST I FOUND YOU! AND NOW I'LL USE IT TO SQUASH ALL OF YOU LIKE THE BUGS YOU ARE!" the mutated Mixzela roared as she tore down a part of the roof to smash the entire Cooper Coven in one attack, but they all thought quickly and dodged out of the way.

"Stay alert, everyone! She's gone crazy!" Bentley cried as he fired a few sleep darts, hoping to slow Mixzela down, but unfortunately, due to her enhanced durability, the darts had no effect and simply bounced off her.

Meanwhile, Lilith tried to keep her balance on one of the vats before Dimitri grabbed her by the hand and took her to safety. "Thank you, Dimitri. I do not want to know what that potion is."

"Hey, is the least I can do as your knight in shining armor, mademoiselle." Dimitri said with a bow, making Lilith blush while giving the lizard a stern look.

"We're wasting time here; we need to get airborne and keep her at bay." Lilith said as she pulled out her Palisman and saddled up with Dimitri sitting behind her. "Hi-ho, Mike Socks, away!"

"I'm sorry, what did you just call your Palisman?" Dimitri asked while trying not to laugh at the silly name Lilith gave her Palisman, but Lilith didn't pay attention as she began holding Hooty from the neck like a rocket launcher.

"Special delivery!" Hooty chirped before adding in a deep voice, "PAIN!" as Lilith began firing more potions, distracting Mixzela from attacking the other coven members and pursuing her and Dimitri instead.

"Quick, while she's distracted!" Bentley commanded as he pulled out one of his grenades and slapped an ice glyph on it before throwing it at Mixzela's foot, stopping her rampage while the foot was frozen in place. "Everybody, seize her!"

"We're on it!" Sly and Luz said in unison before pulling out some fire glyphs and charging straight at Mixzela's back. "SPICY TOSS!" Slapping the glyphs onto Mixzela's back, the mad scientist screamed at the sudden scorching pain on her back before she tried to turn around, but she struggled to do so due to her foot being trapped in ice.

"You're not going anywhere!" Willow exclaimed while conjuring up some massive vines to tie Mixzela's hands down to the floor. "Gus, Murray, Amity, Carmelita, now!"

"So like, do we have a plan to defeat her or expose any weakpoints, or are we just going to wing it?" Gus asked as he began casting illusions of the gang to distract Mixzela with.

"Not sure yet, guess we might as well wing it!" Carmelita replied as she began firing her shock pistol at some nearby light fixtures hanging above Mixzela, hoping to inflict some damage on her in the process.

Just then, Boscha emerged from behind some rubble and threw a sleeping nettle potion to slow Mixzela down. "Hey, great shot, kiddo, that was one in a million!" Murray cheered Boscha on.

However, Mixzela quickly burst free from her confinement with a mighty roar of "MIXIE SMASH!", a sign that her brutish instincts were slowly overriding her rationality, or what little she had of it to begin with, and all that was left was a feral monster who locked onto Luz as her next target. Before Mixzela could charge towards Luz and smash her into the ground, however, Amity summoned an Abomination to rescue her girlfriend in the nick of time while splashing goop into Mixzela's eyes.

"MUST HURT COOPER!" Mixzela continued snarling like a feral animal while charging at Sly. "MUST KILL COOPER!"

"Not while The Murray has anything to say about it!" Murray declared as he stood in defense of Sly and grabbed Mixzela's massive hands in his own, trying to keep her at bay long enough for someone to bring her down once and for all. "Uh, hey, a little help here?"

"Hey, nerd, over here!" Boscha exclaimed as she began launching potions at Mixzela's face to keep her from overpowering Murray before hopping on her Palisman and grabbing Mixzela by the strap of her top and dangling her over a vat of her own elixir.

"NO! NOOOOO!" Mixzela bellowed as she struggled to break free. "WHY? WHY ME?!"

"Oh, just shut up and lose already." Boscha scoffed as she loosened her grip on Mixzela, and she was dropped into a vat of her own elixir, ending her threat to the Boiling Isles once and for all.

JOB COMPLETE

"At long last, we finally brought down Mixzela and ended her potion-making schemes for good." Sly confidently narrated as Mixzela was pulled out of her massive elixir vat upon her defeat, now restored to normal. "Now all that's left to do is leave her to the Emperor's Coven to arrest and take her Palisman to the Bat Queen too."

"Wuh-what happened?" Mixzela stuttered as she regained consciousness, as if she had no memory of her earlier rampage, while Sly scooped up her octopus Palisman in her hands and left the scientist with his calling card. "Last thing I remember was feeling really good after I drank the Jekyde Formula, and then it got real loud, then it got real hot, then it got real slimy, then it got quiet, and then it got...unspeakable!"

"Seriously, what is in that elixir to make her turn into that?" Bentley mused as he picked up the empty vial to contemplate its contents. "Might need to research further. Perhaps this could be useful in any potions we might make in the future."

"We can talk potions later, Bentley, we gotta move!" Luz exclaimed as she heard Coven Scouts outside the brewery room.

"We just got word that Mixzela was attempting to poison his majesty." One scout explained as the Cooper Coven heard footsteps approaching. "First Oozan and his piss-poor attempt at a war, and now this. Maybe Kikimora was right about how much of a terrible idea this was."

"However, our escape from the brewery was easier said than done once this fellow showed up and made arrests left and right." Sly continued narrating as the Cooper Coven narrowly escaped capture by the Emperor's Coven as a group of guards, led by Vitimir, Hunter, and Penelope, ambushed the destroyed brewery in order to arrest Mixzela.

"Everyone, spread out! I want that raccoon brought to me at once!" Vitimir yelled as he held Sly's calling card in his hand as Mixzela's minions were carted away. "Oh, I can already imagine the experiments I could perform on that furball, hehehehehe!"

"I'm starting to wonder who's crazier, him or Mixzela." Sly muttered as the Cooper Coven fled the brewery as the Emperor's Coven shut it down under Kikimora's orders.

"Vitimir was always a bit of a loose cannon. He didn't care about serving Belos; he only wanted to pursue knowledge above all else." Lilith explained.

"You know, if we weren't on opposing sides, maybe he and I could share notes." Bentley stated as he spotted Boscha trying to leave. "And where do you think you're going, little lady?"

"I helped you beat that Mixie girl, so my business is done here. Have fun committing crimes or whatever!" Boscha said as she tried to quit the Cooper Coven before Murray stopped her. "Hey, can you move outta the way? Trying to take my business elsewhere here!"

"Sorry, you're stuck here with us, Boscha. We could use someone with your talents." Murray declared. "And you look like you need some validation because you actually did pretty good back there, wouldn't you agree?"

Boscha then began blushing again at Murray's compliment but quickly tried to brush it off. "Uh, thanks, I guess."

"Boscha, are you blushing?" Amity observed her former friend's face.

"No, I'm not!" Boscha tried to hide how touched she was as she ran off into the night. "See you later, dorks!"

Meanwhile, as Mixzela was transported via carriage to the Conformatorium, Penelope took the time to make small talk with her. "Making yourself comfortable in there, Mixie?" the mouse asked. "Still recovering from your breakup with Eda? If I didn't know any better, I'd believe you might've had feelings for her."

"Of course, I had a crush on Eda!" Mixzela yelled. "She and I worked so well together in our youth, not to mention that her curse seems to have made her more attractive than she already was. But no, she had to ditch me for that human and the raccoon!"

"Welcome to my world, Mixie." Penelope deadpanned, comparing Mixzela's own grudge with Eda to her fractured relationship with Bentley before taking out the photo of her and the turtle yet again.

"Are you still fantasizing about the turtle?!" Mixzela yelled as she noticed the photo from her confinement. "Let me guess, you still care about him even though you were willing to sell him and those Coopers out to the skunk, are you?!"

"N-no!" Penelope blushed as she hid the photo in her jumpsuit. "Just shut up until we reach the prison!" Just then, Penelope's drone hovered before her to print out a wanted poster for Boscha, giving her the epithet "Begrudging Bully" and a bounty of 3,000,000,000 snails. "Thank you, Emily." She nodded to the drone, who beeped excitedly in response.

"With Mixzela finally done for, we decided to finally take some time for ourselves with a trip to the beach." Sly continued monologuing as the Cooper Coven celebrated their victory against Mixzela by having a relaxing beach day.

"Now this is the life, eh, gang?" Sly sighed as he relaxed and caught some rays in a pair of blue swim trunks and an open Hawaiian shirt with his sigil patterned on it.

"Yeah, just us and the gang, chilling out, maxing and relaxing!" Hooty, wearing a pair of sunglasses, a sunhat, and sunblock on his beak, agreed while playing with crabs in the sand.

"Uh, guys, I got a question." Murray said as he stood at the edge of the shore with an inner tube and a snorkeling mask. "How is it possible for people to have a nice day at the beach when the ocean is boiling hot?"

"No need to worry, Murray, I checked, and the water around here should be about the same temperature as a hot tub." Bentley explained after examining the ocean's temperature. "It's only further out that's super boiling hot."

"Alright!" Murray yelled excitedly as he charged towards the water. "CANNONBALL!"

"Hey, nice view, am I right, Cooper?" Dimitri said as he sipped a fruity drink from a coconut, wearing green swim briefs and matching sunglasses.

"Yep, sunshine, nice breeze, beautiful ocean view, this is paradise." Sly replied relaxedly.

"I couldn't agree more, but that's not all I'm talkin' about," Dimitri smirked as he gestured towards Eda, Lilith, and Carmelita walking out in their swimsuits to join the gang. Eda was flaunting her body in a red and black flame-patterned bikini, proving that she's still got it despite her age. Lilith was clad in a plain blue bikini, which she wore with a yellow towel around her waist. She had her nose stuck in a book about ocean life in the Demon Realm and had another book about gamer slang tucked under her arm. And finally, Carmelita had traded in her Interpol uniform for a solid black racerback one-piece swimsuit with red, blue, and white racing stripes, the Interpol symbol over her chest, a pair of sunglasses, and a whistle around her neck in place of her signature collar. "See what I mean?"

"Hey, can I borrow this?" Sly said as he took Dimitri's drink so he could do a spit-take.

"Yep, still got it." Eda boasted as Dimitri took back his drink while she did a few stretches with her back arched and her hands over her head. "Say, Sly, how are the kids doing?"

"The kids are doing alright, Eda. I think they needed this after the high-stakes adventures we've been having lately." Sly said as he looked towards Luz and friends having their own fun in the sun. Luz, wearing a purple and yellow star-studded one-piece with matching shorts, was playfully splashing Amity, who was clad in a simple black and pink two-piece, in the water, and Amity splashed right back with a laugh. Meanwhile, Willow, wearing a moss-green one-piece with white floral patterns, and Gus, clad in light blue swim trunks, were busy burying King in the sand by building a sandcastle over his napping body. "Hey, that reminds me, someone's missing. Bentley, did a certain someone get her invite?"

"Not to worry, Sly, she's a-coming, it's just that she's taking a while." Bentley answered before he suddenly got a flaming volleyball to the face courtesy of Boscha, who had just arrived at the beach with the other Banshees, all clad in swimsuits. Boscha's in particular was a yellow two-piece top and shorts that showed off her muscles gained from Grudgby.

"Sheesh, took you long enough!" Sly declared as he got up to face the Cooper Coven's latest member. "What kept you from showing up any earlier?"

"Just getting in a little practice for our rematch," Boscha smirked as Skara and Kat set up a volleyball net behind her. "You, me, one on one, right here, right now."

"Challenge accepted, kiddo." Sly grinned in response before tossing his shirt to Carmelita. "Carmelita, hold my shirt, this is gonna get crazy."

"Uh, will do, Sly." Carmelita laughed nervously while trying hard not to make Sly notice she was eyeing his shirtless body before turning to Lilith. "Lilith, help me out here."

"Uh, Carmelita, did you know that KYS means this?" Lilith asked as she passed her gamer slang book to the Interpol officer, who began blushing in response.

"The nerve of some people." Carmelita rolled her eyes as the Cooper Coven and the Banshees gathered around Sly and Boscha as their epic rematch began.

"Whoo, go Sly!" Luz cheered on her furry big brother figure as the game began.

"You can do it!" Amity started cheering as well.

"C'mon Boscha!" Skara and Amelia hollered.

"Yeah, I could get used to these kinds of slice-of-life moments." Sly narrated to himself as he jumped up and spiked the volleyball to Boscha. "Still, we may have defeated two members of the Wild Witch Syndicate, but I got a bad feeling the rest will only be more challenging from here on out. I'm not too bothered, though, because as we Coopers say, there's no honor, no challenge, no fun stealing from ordinary people. We already ripped off two master criminals, and now everyone knows we're master thieves."

Deep within the Conformatorium, Mixzela was put behind bars for her numerous crimes and her failures to fulfill her part in Belos's plans, her cell conveniently next to Oozan's, as the mad potion-maker began gnawing at the bars like a wild animal, cursing everyone who had foiled her.

"Curse that Cooper, curse the human and her friends, and especially curse Eda!" Mixzela snarled furiously as she immediately began plotting her revenge. "Once I make a potion strong enough to get me outta here, those fools shall rue the day they trifled with the great and intelligent Mixzela Glass!"

"Uh, hey, Ms. Glass, I just came here to tell you that you got a postcard." Steve said while standing in front of Mixzela's cell with a postcard in hand. "You would not believe who sent it, too!"

"Give me that!" Mixzela shouted as she snatched the postcard from Steve's hands and realized that she was staring at a picture of the Cooper Coven all dressed up for a day at the beach and smiling for the camera with a "Wish You Were Here" message right below them, as if they were taunting her. "Oh, hardy har har, fools." She then turned the postcard over to read the message on the back.

"Dear Mixzela, it's your old pal Eda." The message read. "Sorry we couldn't meet again under better circumstances, but I've changed since Hexside, gal. I met this kid, you probably know her as Luz, I made peace with my sister and my curse, and I got some amazing friends by my side as we work together to kick the Syndicate's butts. That reminds me, we're coming for the rest of your buddies next! Maybe someday we can make amends, but for right now, enjoy prison, Mixie. Your old friend, Eda Clawthorne."

After finishing the message, Mixzela took one long look at the prison cell wall in front of her and let out a heavy sigh. "Thanks for at least acknowledging me, Eda." She said to the postcard. "And for giving me something to throw darts at now." Using her magic, Mixzela pinned the picture of the Cooper Coven up to her wall before throwing enchanted darts at it to pass the time.

Meanwhile, at the Wild Witch Syndicate's headquarters at Chalmun Port, the remaining members of the group were gathered around a table with wineglasses of apple blood as Mirector Narcisso stood up to make an announcement.

"Ladies, gentlemen, and whatever Venyrap is supposed to be, I would like to propose a toast in honor of our fallen comrades." Mirector declared. "Our once immaculate leader, Oozan Sludgios, and the mad genius Mixzela Glass, were foiled by the efforts of Sly Cooper & Luz Noceda and their band of thieves, and are currently locked within the confines of the Conformatorium. Even though we may be lost without Sludgios, all hope hasn't been snuffed out yet as I, Mirector Narcisso, soon to be head witch of the Illusion Coven, name myself your new leader!"

"You, Mirector, our leader?" Tienhan sneered disdainfully. "This is bad comedy."

"Yeah, you may be a capable politician, but you'd sooner roll over and beg like a dog before demonstrating any leadership skills that make you a worthy replacement!" Venyrap agreed with Tienhan.

"Shouldn't you be wallowing in your own filth?" Mirector mocked Venyrap's comment.

"If only, but the filth isn't quite my style today!" Venyrap exclaimed.

"Well, good luck on being our so-called leader then." Ognsta rolled his eyes before he suddenly got a phone call, and he picked up the crow. "What is it?!" he barked to one of his hunters. "A flaming panda, coming out of some kind of portal? And some kind of little purple creature speaking gibberish who's mind-controlling you with some kind of stone? Oh, this I have to see!"

"Work calling again, dear?" Medico asked her huntsman husband as he prepared to set off on a new hunt. "Be sure to come back soon!"

"I shall return posthaste, my dear." Ognsta replied as he kissed his wife on the cheek before setting off.

"Okay, now that those lovebirds have had their moment in the sun, let's get back to talking about me for a change." Mirector declared. "As I'm sure you're aware, I shall be holding a grand party at my mansion to celebrate my current campaign to become the next head of the Illusion Coven. I expect all of you to show up once you receive my invitations."

"Oh, so that's what that thing was!" Venyrap realized something he should've thought of earlier. "I was getting hungry, so I ate mine."

"Did you send any invites to Belos or the Coven heads as well?" Archer asked. "I gotta make myself look presentable for Mason, in case he wants to make any deals."

"Don't worry, I sent out their invitations too." Mirector assured Archer. "Unfortunately, it seems Mr. Belos will be unable to make it because he has 'prior commitments' as he puts it."

"Likely related to that special friend we've been helping him rebuild." Piper added.

"I might not have the immortality born of pure hate... but I feel something... some power growing within me." An unfamiliar voice echoed in the darkest depths of Clockwerk's twisted mind as he continued standing motionless while Belos modified him. "Die insects, die! My hate will smash you!" The owl had no idea who this voice was, but his questions would have to wait as Belos continued his operation. "I hate you, Cooper Gang! I will find you in your sleep, and I will destroy you. You'll never know a moment's peace for the rest of your short, miserable lives."

"And there." Belos said as he finished a special operation to surgically attach a witch's bile sac to Clockwerk's cold, metallic heart. "Thank goodness Nurse Valentine had a few blie sacs lying around from her operations. With this, you shall be able to perform magic like any other witch."

"I don't see how you think this shall help me," Clockwerk commented. "You can't even perform magic yourself without your staff. Besides, you promised that you'd find a witch to become my new vessel, so what was the point of giving me one?"

"I just figured this might even the odds in my favor," Belos replied. "Regardless, I think it might be fun to give this a whirl." Using his staff, the emperor then conjured up a pair of dummies resembling Sly and Luz. "Go ahead, fire at will."

Using what limited movement he was currently capable of, Clockwerk struggled to draw a spell circle in the air using his beak with the currently limited movement of his neck. Surprisingly, the circle worked and out came two pillars of flame that burned the dummies to ash. And Clockwerk, ever since he began replacing his body with soulless machinery to live long enough to fulfill his hatred of all Coopers, did something he hasn't done in eons.

Clockwerk smiled.