Multifandom Short Stories

~ Bury a Friend ~

Games: Crash Bandicoot

Author's Note reserved for end

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He didn't think the day would come. And he wished he could take everything back.

Cortex fumbled his hands nervously as he shifted a bit on the bench. He had wanted to sit as far back as he could, but it was as though nobody wanted him to. The scientist resorted to sitting in a bench in the front, on the right side of the room.

Sitting to his right was the closest thing he could call a friend at the moment, Dr. N. Gin. As opposed to Cortex's simple black suit, he wore a long, black dress, and a dark veil that was tied around the ghastly missile sticking out from the left side of his head, the veil concealing his face. Normally Cortex would berate him for such attire, but whatever heart he felt he had left told him otherwise.

Behind them were those that Cortex could, at least, see eye-to-eye with. Usually not in a literal sense, though, given Neo's short stature. Part of him felt relieved to see that at least he was not physically alone at the funeral. N. Gin didn't count to him, since he would do anything for Cortex. Neo's niece Nina sat alongside these goons. He did not want to pry into why she didn't want to sit with her uncle.

To his left sat a legion of colorful characters, all who opposed him in some way, shape, or form. He wasn't surprised to see his old assistant N. Brio among the crowd, nor any of the bandicoots in the front pews. Coco, the youngest, was sobbing into her gloved hands while her surrogate brother, Crunch, pulled her in for a hug.

In front of everyone rested a closed casket, alongside a blown up portrait of Crash Bandicoot.

It was almost ironic, really. He could have easily been killed by anything. Bottomless pits. Fire. A falling tree. Even sharks in the desert. These sights weren't uncommon for him in his lifetime, which only made the pain of him passing peacefully in his sleep more painful to those around him. The reasons were never disclosed, and not even the ever knowledgeable Coco had the strength to look into it.

Nobody could process that he was gone.

Everyone, including Cortex, listened on as Tawna delivered her eulogy for her late ex-boyfriend. She had remorsed the lost time they could have spent together, and thanked his family for helping him continue to do great things in life. She glared down at the right side of the room, specifically at Cortex. "There are words I want to say to you all at this moment," she huffed, "but there is a time and place for such, and now is not one of them."

Cortex felt the heat of the countless death glares staring him down. Every speech so far had verbally beaten him down in one way or another. He understood why, but was still embarrassed or even hurt nonetheless.

"And, if there is a God, then may He have mercy on that poor bandicoot's soul. Thank you," Tawna concluded. She stepped down from the podium, lifting part of her long, black dress so that she wouldn't accidentally trip with her black heels on.

As she went to sit down, Coco, who also served as the host for the funeral, got up and went to the podium. "I know w-we've had a few eulogies already," she sniffled, "but I'd like to h-hear from one more person. I think we... we all would." She looked directly at Cortex. He avoided making eye contact with her out of embarrassment, and sighed.

As Cortex approached the podium, he felt the burning stares get worse. Neo felt like he was going to melt from the intensity of the hatred directed at him from eyes alone. Again, N. Gin did not count to him.

He cleared his throat. "S-So... I don't think anyone expected for this to happen," Cortex began, hoping for some sort of laughter from his spectators.