Crash and Spyro, A Friendship Across Lifetimes

Chapter 16: Of Man and Machine

CORTEX faced his creation, Subject C1, in a standoff. Somehow, this insolent reject had managed to defeat his more promising mutants and infiltrated and destroy most of his Castle and Laboratory. It was infuriating. Cortex's whole life changed upon discovering the Power Crystals; he spent his entire life tracking them down and trying to find out how the supposed "magic" inside the gems actually worked. When Cortex discovered that three of the last seven Power Crystals were all on one chain of islands, he knew he was about to confront his destiny. He now knew what they were capable of, how the gems had been used in the past and what he could do with them now. N Brio had uncovered the Gems ability to alter and mutate living creatures, so he and Cortex designed the Evolve-O Ray. Cortex then discerned what the Gems could do to a creatures mind. He first tried out the Gems "magic" on who stood before him now. The gems had worked perfectly. Crash was a loyal and excellent product of Cortex's genius. But what caused him to betray me? It couldn't have been the female bandicoot?

"So, tell me 'Crash', before I tie up my last loose end on this Island, answer me this. Why? Why did you come out of hiding and try to stop me?"

Crash, staring at Cortex did not answer. The flames from Cortex's castle could be seen bellow. Both Cortex and Crash stood atop Cortex's zeppelin, which was departing Cortex's destroyed base of operations. As much as Cortex denied it in his mind, the question as to how and why Crash betrayed him haunted him, especially now that he stood in front of him, defying and obstructing his destiny.

"Well come on, spit it out! I know you SAD is functioning, I built it myself. Tell me why!"

Crash again did not respond, nor did he not divert his eyes from Cortex. Cortex yelled angrily and took to the sky, now gliding around the zeppelin on a personal levitation device.

"Darn you, 'Crash Bandicoot'! You have disobeyed me for the last time, now die!" Cortex pulled out his blaster pistol from its holster. He fired a barrage of shots at Crash, but the energy blasts did not make contact, as Crash had expertly dodged all fire, while the missed shots did damage to the zeppelin's exterior. Crash continued to stare at Cortex, who gave his pistol a moment to cool down. Before he fired his next shot, Crash finally spoke, not using his SAD.

"Be... cause... of Papua... Papua" Crash said to the Doctor. Cortex continued to fire at Crash, missing each time. Light air began to escape from the craft as it lost altitude. "Be... cause... of Niko..." Crash said louder as he continued to stare down his creator. Cortex, livid at this point, started overheating the pistol as he unrelentingly fired at Crash. A green barrier formed around his target, dissipating and protecting Crash from subsequent fire. "Because of Budakan." Crash said louder and near perfectly. "Because of Coco. Because of Tawna!" Crash leaped incredibly high in the air and grabbed Cortex's levitation board. The added wait through off the equilibrium of the device, and it tilted to the left. Cortex fell off, dropped his firearm, and grabbed Crash's leg before he could plummet to the ground. "Because I loved." Cortex's grip began to loosen as he struggled to maintain his grasp. "Because I chose to." Crash lifted his right leg and placed it onto Cortex's face. He began to push and Cortex struggled to preserve his grip. Finally, Cortex's grasp failed and he plummeted to the island surface. Crash climbed his way to the top of the levitation device and watched as the zeppelin plummeted into the ocean and Cortex's lab go up in flames. After a moment passed, he used the floating board to return home.

The reconstruction of Butakan was slow and painful. The ash's a reminder of those who didn't survive. Those who did survive returned to their village, and overtime a small community was made. Crash no longer hid from the villagers, thanks to Coco. She assumed some form of leadership, trying to adjust after losing her father and brother. One day, after Crash had assisted in constructing a new home for a mother and son who had lost their father, Crash and the young boy played a game of hid and seek. Coco interrupted before the young boy could win.

<Crash, can I speak with you, alone?>

Crash emerged from his hiding spot and the little Budakan tagged him, declaring victory. Crash handed him one of the two wampa fruits he planned on eating and followed Coco to the beach. Crash walked up beside her as they both starred at the sunset. She must have been a foot taller than him.

"Crash, how long did you live on this beach before I spotted you that rainy night?"

Crash wasn't sure where this conversation was heading, it made him nervous.

"Four months, two weeks." Crash said using his SAD.

"When we first meet, I asked you if you there was someone who you needed to return to when you wanted to bolt from my home. Why did you lie to me?"

Crash tensed up. Coco walked over a good distance and stood next to a rock formation that outlined a rectangle pattern on the ground. Crash joined her side a moment later and knelt on the ground.

"Who was she?"

Crash did not respond to the question. When Coco knelt next to Crash and put her hand on his should, she could see that tears were beginning to stream from his eyes. She hugged Crash as he broke down.

A bright light Shined in Cortex's face. He was in agonizing pain, but he was alive. A young, promising pupil, holding a flashlight, approached his master and told his subordinates to get the medicine.

"Ah, I see Nitrous Brio has finished applying and upgrading your Cybernetics. That one tribesman from so long ago had received my first ever bodily implant. It was worth it to get those barbarians trust. But I see you have made a full recovery and am now ready to serve your purpose."

"Why of course master. And with you healthy and brought aboard your space station, we can continue your efforts of world domination and control, Dr. Cortex."

"Very good, Niko."

"Please, call me N-Gin, master."