The dancing worries of Carmelita Fox

This was humiliating.

She could not believe what Bentley, the person she had thought was the most earnest and intelligent in this group, had just planned. Sure, they needed a distraction, something to make sure that the guards would not get in their way. The door, after all, was complex and they would need a lot of time to properly unlock.

Why, then, did the plan involve her belly-dancing? Considering what she had seen Bentley do and how he had planned many intricate things, this somehow did not feel right. She could see that perhaps someone else had influenced him somehow. Having a pretty good idea just who had carefully suggested this approach to him, the police officer wasn't at ease at all with what would soon happen.

Looking at the costume that Salim, Sly's ancestor, had brought for her, she had no idea if he had gone for a more decadent or more modest version of what consisted of a belly-dancing costume. Everything was made of thick silk of a purple colorization, with a top revealing much of her belly and cleavage, pants that did not show an ounce of her legs, a thick face veil and blue slippers. With the clothing adorned with coins, some golden jewelry and some other accessories, the foxy lady was rather annoyed at the fact that she would probably fulfill one of the thieving raccoon's fantasies during this plan.

With the alternative being that Murray would try to do this instead of her, she knew that this would have no chance of success. While she could see the merit of such a plan, part of her just did not like the fact that she would show off her body in a sensual manner to people she just did not know. Still, she wanted to go home and stop Le Paradox, meaning that there would be sacrifices, even if this meant her dignity.

Adorning the revealing costume, Carmelita could see that she was absolutely striking in this costume, perhaps too much in fact. The distracting aspect of the plan would work, that much she knew, yet the dancing would be problematic. She had no actual basis for elegant of even gracious dancing. She would most probably butcher this art in front of people who would see through the fascimile. However, as she began to get a bit uneasy over that fact, she finally noticed a small bag near the accessories. Looking at it, a small parchment was rolled up on the leather cord that held it sealed.

Curious about just what exactly was in that mysterious bag, the now-costumed Carmelita picked it up as she carefully removed the parchment. If there was a message with the bag, perhaps it served as a warning about whatever was inside it. Unrolling it, it was a message from Salim Al-Kupar himself.

''Use it just before your dance and everything will be all right.''

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Carmelita could feel that the bag was too small and too light for it to contain any sort of secret weapon or anything that could perhaps help her. In fact, as she felt it just a bit, it seemed that there was only one small object inside it. Unsure what this meant, she still brought it with her, hoping that Sly's ancestor knew what he was doing when he put the bag there in the first place.

Getting to the gang, everyone was waiting for her. With everyone's eyes locked on her, Sly's especially, no one could see the unhappy grin on her face thanks to the veil she sported. Getting ready to strut her stuff for perverted guards, she sighed before looking at Bentley. ''You owe me BIG time for this one...''

With that said, she did not wait for any potential answer from the turtle as she advanced toward the guards. Getting up to them slowly, she tried to be as seductive as possible. With the plan relying on her acting that way, she cringed at the idea that those men would most probably think of her for a long time after all of this would be done.

Getting close, all she needed to do was get their attention. ''Hey, you big apes!'', she loudly said, catching the interest of the guard instantly as they eyed her in disbelief. ''Yoo Hoo. Over here, you dumb knuckle-draggers,'' she continued, fairly certain that they would not pay any attention to her words. Being correct in her assumption, the two large baboon guards approached as they were mesmerized by the sudden appearance of the sexy belly dancer.

About to start trying to dance for their silly entertainment, Carmelita soon remembered about the bag that Salim had left for her. Opening it up and throwing it on the ground, what she took from it was a single polished and green gem. Unsurprised at this fact, she could understand what this was for, as none of the clothes or jewelry she wore had a socket for her to put this gem. Sighing silently, she put the gem in her belly button, which resulted in the excited baboons clapping their hand in encouragement.

About to begin, she let her imagination run rampant as she tried to make moves that a belly dancer would make, adding her own little internal music along with it. Moving her hips back and forth in a mostly awkward manner, she tried not to look at the two guards as she tried her amateur dance. Her fluffy tail moving along with her jerky movements, she added arm movements in order to experiment a little. As long as it looked like the real thing, perhaps this would work.

Twirling a bit, she stuck with hips movement for a while, shaking her butt a little whilst doing so. While this was degrading, she nonetheless knew it would work. Seeing that Sly was getting to the door unspotted, she began thinking that this plan, no matter how ill-conceived, was perhaps working after all.

Returning to look at both guards, she could see that they were fascinated with her. While this disgusted her a bit, parts of her somehow found it a little exciting. The danger and how she was able to contribute did not push aside the humiliation, yet there was a certain thrill to it all. Moving her stomach to the front and back in a semi-wavelike pattern, she had no idea if this was actual belly-dancing or something a bit more degrading that she was doing. Still, with some arm movements and her gaze focusing on a spot on the wall, she could not stop and think too much about it.

Getting caught in a trance-like state of mind, all that mattered now was her performance, no matter how out-of-form it was. The plan was going ahead and it had to work even if this was slightly uncomfortable. Still, there was a certain fun to be had as she could spot Sly catching a few glimpses at her while Bentley and Murray went on to help him with the door.

Shaking her hips with energy and moving her fingers close to her stomach, she tried to focus a lot more on the belly part of her dance. Trying to do small circles with her navel, this only resulted in her hips bumping a bit too savagely while her belly wobbled a little bit, which seemingly worked out in the end as she had not heard anything from the guards for a while whilst she did so.

Curious about the progress on the door, she caught a peek only to be startled by the fact that Sly, Bentley and Murray had stopped working on it. All three of them were looking at her, their jaws slack as the only one working on unlocking this large obstacle was Salim, who had sneaked there without her noticing. Furious about this, she then looked at the guards, only to see that their jaws was much alike the Cooper gang, slack and without much energy. The two baboons, utterly mesmerized by her dance, had green swirls in their eyes, something that immediately reminded Carmelita of some sort of hypnotic trance.

Having previous experience with hypnosis, mostly due to the villainous Contessa, she could see that they were lost in her performance, ready to be implemented with commands. Having read a lot on the subject matter amongst other thing, the belly-dancing fox theorized that perhaps this gem had hypnotic property, which made her dance more than simply beautiful, but enthralling as well. About to test that theory, Carmelita broke the silent treatment she gave to the guards, continuing her dance as she spoke in a calm tone. ''Both of you, touch your noses.''

Their hands acting as if they were controlled by an invisible puppeteer, both baboons touched their nose instantly in a robotic manner. Seemingly obeying this very simple command, their eyes still spun with green colors as their sight was transfixed on the stomach area of the surprising dancer.

Smiling subtly under her veil, Carmelita was about to utter another command to test the water, yet could not help but giggle a little as she saw that Sly, Bentley and Murray were touching their nose as well. Now confident that everyone was lost in a deep trance, the police officer had a bright idea right there on the spot. ''Sly, I want you to come closer,'' she commanded, waving with her finger in a come-hither fashion.

Obeying instantly, Sly was helpless in the spell that Carmelita had unwittingly unleashed. With both baboons not caring in the slightest that a raccoon was now amongst their midst, Carmelita was now certain that each of them were lost in deep hypnosis due to her dance. ''Bentley, Murray, I want you both to help Salim with the door,'' she commanded.

Satisfied that both were obeying on the spot, she then began to think of just what she could do with such power. With such a powerful hypnotic accessory, she could usher a new era of criminal reform, making thieves and others integrate society in a much better manner. Perhaps she could even make Sly actually stop his illegal activities and focus his energy on helping the law instead.

With such thoughts drifting in her head, the power began to make a bit more impulsive. ''Kiss my belly in devotion, Sly. Tell me how sorry you are that you lied to me during all these years,'' she said, towering over him as he kneeled in order to obey this command of hers. Feeling his lips on her furred belly, a chill of pleasure and satisfaction crept up her spine. Reminded of all those intimate and lovely moments they had spent together, Carmelita was lost in those happy memories as she stopped minding about the guards. There was something infinity seductive in knowing that Sly was hopelessly lost in the hypnotic effect of her dance, that he was under her power.

With Sly obeying her command without any hesitation, he nibbled at her stomach as he took some time to talk to her in a tone that merged calm submission with something that she could not yet identify. ''It felt wrong to lie to you...yet this was the only way I felt we could be together...I am sorry if I hurt you...I beg for you to pardon my action...I felt like I did not deserve you sometimes...'' he said, continuing his prolonged excuse as Carmelita had not told him to stop.

The earnest apology surprising her, she could feel that even under heavy hypnotism, what he said come from the heart. Smiling warmly, she began to pet his head lovingly as he motioned for him to rise. Seeing him do so instantly, she hugged him tightly as she forgot the situation she was in but for a moment. The dancing, the costume, the silliness, the bitterness, everything was forgotten just for an instant as she simply wanted to forgive him on the spot. Still a little bit hurt, though, she refrained from doing so.

Letting him go, she then looked at him as his dreamy expression and his swirly green eyes soon made her see reason. If she actually used this gem to further an agenda like that, she would be no better than the Contessa, who had used similar methods to disastrous effects. Worse yet, Sly would not be himself anymore, which would be the most terrible thing to happen. A believer of justice and an officer of the law could not resort to such easy solutions like that.

Realizing that the door had been unlocked without her noticing, Carmelita could see that Bentley and Murray were somewhat lost, while Salim was leaning on a wall as if patiently waiting for something to happen. ''So, I suppose you're finished, then?'' the old man said, not looking in her direction.

''Yes. I think I am,'' answered Carmelita, aware of what he truly meant.

''Then remove the gem, put it in the bag, then give it back to me, please,'' he replied, never looking at her direction.

Doing as he said, Carmelita retrieved the bag, the plucked out the gem from her navel with a popping sound. Attaching the bag, she tried not to look at the gem too much as mere glimpses of it made her want to observe it at length. With the two baboons and Sly still being under her spell, none moved as if waiting for a command from their dancing mistress.

Approaching Salim, she then handed the bag to him. Grabbing it, he then inserted it in a hidden pocket within his vestments. ''From what I can see, my little contribution has helped a lot, yes?'' he said, teasing her just a little.

''Yes it did. Thank you, Salim,'' she gently answered, her smile hidden by the veil.

''Just like I thought. You might be beautiful, but I suspected you knew nothing about the art of belly-dancing. I have seen and even been with many a great dancer and I didn't see any of their grace and allure within you. No offense meant,'' he explained, trying to weight his word as to not insult her.

''I understand. I didn't exactly know what I was doing, but in the end it worked very well. Just a little question, though,'' she retorted, putting her right hand on her hip.

''Uhhm?'' he mindlessly answered, his interest piqued.

''What exactly is this gem? I have seen things that enhance hypnotic powers, yet I have never seen or heard about anything quite this powerful before,'' she explained, hoping that Salim would not be like Sly in terms of secrets.

''It's a little thing called the Cobra gem. It once belonged to a precious flame of mine, a woman called Jaina Cobra, who gave it to me before passing away. She had a daughter and asked of me to hold it for her before giving it to her when she reaches maturity. Until then, I do have to say I may have used it a few times before, but I will give it to her daughter when the time comes. I do have a weak spot for pretty ladies, after all,'' he answered, winking at Carmelita with a smile.

Not minding the last bit too much, Carmelita knew however that the plan and the ongoing struggle against Le Paradox would not progress very well with the Cooper gang stuck in a powerful trance like that. Motioning for Bentley and Murray to follow her, she did the same with Sly as to get them in their own little corner along with her. ''All three of you shall go through that door. When you do that, you will believe that your plan went flawlessly. You will not remember that you were hypnotized, nor that it was because of me that you were under such a state. All you will remember is that I danced in an okay manner and that you need to go on and remove Ms. Decibel's sway over this time period. Now go,'' she commanded.

The three of them doing what was demanded of them, Carmelita then felt relieved. While this plan decidedly went in a bizarre direction, things had worked out pretty well in the end. Looking at Sly with a smile, she felt like this belly-dancing plan had gone much better than she had ever anticipated. The humiliation mostly gone, she felt even a bit empowered knowing that she had stuck to her beliefs even with the temptation of bringing close to everyone in this room under her power.

Letting the two guards stay under this trance, she smiled as she then went back to get changed. They would need her for some other plans and she'd need to be in clothes that would allow her to be less of distraction. Getting out of the room, all of her worries were gone, replaced by something that was infinitely more pleasant: relief. All it took to achieve this was a belly dancer costume, one of Sly's willing ancestor and a hypnotic gem.